Use of GST data in national accounts in limbo 3 years after tax roll-out

Difficult to gauge from state GST revenues collections whether or not economic activity is picking up, say experts

There has been a demand to use goods and services tax (GST) data for national accounts. However, even after three years of the roll out of the indirect tax system, the issue remains hanging. 

Why is this so? Former chief statistician Pronab Sen says it is not difficult to use GST data for national accounts. The issue is the GST authorities are not sharing the data with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), he explained. 

He said the point is that GST is a value-added tax. "From the past data, you should know what rate is applicable to