Experts wary about sustainability of Rs one trillion GST collections

They believe the October mop-up may have resulted from pent-up demand, are sceptical about the post festive season scenario

The Goods and services tax (GST) collection crossed Rs 1 trillion for the first time in eight months this October. The crucial issue now is whether this will sustain, as the October collections were largely due to unlocking from September onwards.

Collection in any month is for the business done the previous month.

At Rs 1.05 trillion, the mop up was not only 10 per cent higher than Rs 95,379 crore a year ago but almost equal to that in February, which was before the lockdown, when the pandemic hadn’t struck.

The government claimed that the year-on-year growth and the 4 per cent