GST Collection Surpasses ₹1 Lakh Cr-Mark For Fourth Straight Month In February

The Centre on Sunday, March 1, said that it had collected ₹1.05 lakh crore worth Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in February, an increase of 8 per cent over the same month last year, indicating that the collection surpassed the ₹1-trillion-mark for the fourth consecutive month.

The collection from GST in February was, however, lesser than the ₹1.10 lakh crore collected in the first month of 2020.

The earlier GST collection target for FY20 estimated the collection from January and February to be at ₹1.15 trillion each and ₹1.25 trillion for March.

"The gross GST revenue collected in February 2020 is ₹1,05,366 crore of which CGST is ₹20,569 crore, SGST is ₹27,348 crore, IGST is ₹48,503 crore, and Cess is ₹8,947 crore," the finance ministry issued a statement.

"The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in February 2020 is ₹43,155 crore for CGST and ₹43,901 crore for the SGST," the statement read.

GST collection had increased by 8.3 per cent every year in January. The collection could have been much higher if the tax exports had not fallen by 2 per cent every year.

Experts denied the effect of the coronavirus outbreak in China on imports since these contracted three months in advance.

The GST revenues of domestic transactions in February have shown an increase of 12 per cent over the same month last year. However, the GST on import of goods experienced negative growth of (-) 2 per cent as compared to February last year.

"These numbers indicate that the GST collections are becoming stable, with new changes like e-invoicing and new returns slated for next month, more stability is expected in future," Deloitte India Partner MS Mani said.

Also Read: GST Collection In India Is Below Potential, Says IMF