GST collections dip below Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 98,202 cr in Aug

In an apparent sign of economic slowdown, India's GST collections in August dropped to Rs 98,202 crore from over Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the previous month, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

However, total Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up for August this year was 4.5 per cent higher than the Rs 93,960 crore collected in the same month last year.

This is the second time during this year that the revenue collection from the GST slipped below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. First, it happened in June when the collection was Rs 99,939 crore. However, it was Rs 1.02 lakh crore in July.

Central GST collections stood at Rs 17,733 crore, State GST Rs 24,239 crore, and Integrated GST Rs 48,958 crore (including Rs 24,818 crore collected on imports) during August this year, a statement said.

It further said that cess collection stood at Rs 7,273 crore (including Rs 841 crore collected on imports).

The number of GSTR 3B Returns (summary of self-assessed return) filed for the month of July up to end-August totalled 75.80 lakh.

As per the statement, Rs 27,955 crore has been released to states as GST compensation for June-July 2019.

"The government has settled Rs 23,165 crore to CGST and Rs 16,623 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by central government and state governments after regular settlement in the month of August 2019 is Rs 40,898 crore for CGST and Rs 40,862 crore for the SGST," it said.

Gross GST collections during April-August stood at Rs 5,14,378 crore, up from Rs 4,83,538 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. This shows a growth of 6.3 per cent during the five months of the current fiscal.

The GST, which was introduced two years ago, has subsumed most of the indirect taxes.

"There is a slowdown in the economy. Various sectors including automobile and FMCG are going through worst phase due to subdued consumption. This has reflected in the latest number of the GST," AMRG and Associates senior partner Rajat Mohan said.

However, the government has, on many occasions, said it will meet indirect tax collection target set in the Budget.

For 2019-20, the government proposes to collect Rs 6.10 lakh crore from CGST and Rs 1.01 lakh crore as compensation cess. The IGST balance has been pegged at Rs 50,000 crore.

The CGST collection in 2018-19 was Rs 4.25 lakh crore, while compensation cess was over Rs 97,000 crore.