Ratio of GST collections to GDP is increasing, albeit at a slow pace

GST receipts rose more than GDP growth in nominal terms in the past three years. But buoyancy came down from 1.6 to 1.3 during the period

Much has been reported about the robust goods and services tax (GST) collection. But its proportion to the size of the economy is only crawling up.

The gross GST collection (before refunds) grew 11.5 per cent to hit the second-highest numbers at Rs 1.78 trillion in March of the last financial year. The highest amount at Rs 1.87 trillion was collected in April 2023.

The gross GST collection touched Rs 20.18 trillion during the entire 2023-24, a growth of 11.7 per cent over Rs 18.07 crore during the previous financial year. 

While the gross amount seems significant, it was just