Economic Survey 2018: CGST collections to come closer to SGST

According to Economic Survey 2017-18, CGST collections are running well below SGST collections which are expected to decline over time

The difference between the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) collection and the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) is likely to decline, said the Economic Survey 2017-18.

According to the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Monday, currently, CGST collections are running "well below SGST collections.

"CGST collections are running well below SGST collections (they should be identical by construction) because of a large stock of unutilised credit available in respect of the old excise and service tax. This is expected to decline over time," the survey report presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

"In the steady state, CGST collections should be close to SGST collections. Against this, we need to adjust the IGST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax) for a much higher steady state level of refunds, estimated at an additional Rs 500 billion," it said.