The Goods and Services Tax collections for December 2020 came at Rs 1,15,174 crore, in the highest ever monthly collection since the new tax regime was implemented in 2017, the finance ministry said on Friday. The highest monthly GST collections before this was Rs 1,13,866 crore in April 2019, according to government data.
The collections, which were 12% higher as compared to the last month, is in line with the recent trend of recovery in GST revenues, the finance ministry said. In November, the revenues came at Rs 1,04,963 crore. GST collections have now come in excess of the Rs 1-lakh crore mark for three consecutive months.
The finance ministry claimed that the uptick in GST collections is a result of economic recovery and compliance measures undertaken by the government.
“This [highest-ever collections] has been due to combined effect of the rapid economic recovery post pandemic and the nation-wide drive against GST evaders and fake bills alongwith many systemic changes introduced recently, which have led to improved compliance,” the ministry said.
The Central GST collections came at Rs 21,365 crore, while those under the heads of State GST and Integrated GST stood at Rs 27,804 crore and Rs 57,426 crore, respectively.
Economic analysts saw the development as a positive sign for the Indian economy, which is struggling to deal with a slowdown that started before the coronavirus pandemic and intensified amid the countrywide lockdown.
“The increase in the revenue from import of goods indicates that Indian economy is on the fast track of growth now after a long dip due to Covid lockdown,” Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of Confederation of Indian Industry, told PTI.
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