At Rs 1.41 trillion, GST collection for April 2021 sets new record

Despite the second wave of coronavirus pandemic affecting several parts of the country, Indian businesses have once again shown remarkable resilience, says govt

Surpassing the previous high in March, Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in the month of April set another fresh record at Rs 1.41 trillion, according to the government data released on Saturday. April month's GST revenues are about 14 per cent higher when compared with the collections of previous month.

GST collections have consistently crossed Rs 1 trillion mark for the last seven months. 

"Despite the second wave of coronavirus pandemic affecting several parts of the country, Indian businesses have once again shown remarkable resilience by not only complying with the return filing requirements but also paying their GST dues in a timely manner during the month," the government said in an official statement.

During April, the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 21 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the last month.

Of the total collections, CGST amounts to about 27,837 crore, SGST is Rs 35,621 crore, IGST is Rs 68,481 crore (including Rs 29,599 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 9,445 crore (including Rs 981 crore collected on import of goods).

"These are clear indicators of sustained economic recovery during this period. Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, Income-tax and Customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue," the government said.

"Quarterly return and monthly payment scheme has been successfully implemented bringing relief to the small taxpayers as they now file only one return every three months. Providing IT support to taxpayers in the form of pre-filled GSTR 2A and 3B returns and ramped up System capacity have also eased the return filing process," it said.