New Delhi: Achieving a landmark milestone in the history of collecting tax revenue, India's gross goods and services tax or GST collections hit a record high in April 2024 and crossed Rs 2-lakh crore mark as well. However, the government on Wednesday said that the gross GST mop-up stood at Rs 2.10 lakh crore, representing a growth of 12.4 percent on year-on-year basis. Even after accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April also stood at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, which is an impressive growth of 15.5 per cent, compared to the same period last year, according to the finance ministry.
Issuing a statement, the ministry also said that the GST collections breached the milestone of Rs 2-lakh crore in April and the rise in tax collections is mainly driven by the robust growth in domestic transactions and imports. “The GST collections hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4 per cent year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4 per cent) and imports (up 8.3 per cent),” the ministry said.
Commenting on the data, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman lauded the efforts of the central and state officers of the revenue department and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) for their “sincere and collaborative efforts” in achieving this landmark. “The GST collection crosses the Rs 2 lakh crore benchmark, thanks to the strong momentum in the economy and efficient tax collections,” the finance minister posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The GST revenue, which is accounted as taxes on goods sold and services rendered, was over Rs 1.78 lakh crore last month, while it was Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023. “In April this year, the mop-up under Central GST (CGST) pool stood at Rs 43,846 crore, while State GST (SGST) collection reached Rs 53,538 crore and Integrated GST (IGST) Rs 99,623 crore, including Rs 37,826 crore collected through levies on imported goods. The total Cess collection was registered at Rs 13,260 crore, including Rs 1,008 crore collected on imported goods,” the ministry said.
However, the ministry further said that the central government settled Rs 50,307 crore to CGST and Rs 41,600 crore to SGST from the IGST collection. This translates to a total revenue of Rs 94,153 crore for CGST and Rs 95,138 crore for SGST in April 2024 after regular settlement. “There are no dues pending on account of IGST settlement to the states,” the finance minister said.
After accounting for refunds, the data also showed that the net GST revenue for April 2024 stood at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5 per cent growth compared to the number of the same period last year. Though the government said that the strong GST numbers were recorded on the back of a strong increase in domestic transactions and imports, experts said it also shows the Indian economy’s fast formalisation and reflects a buoyant economy as well.
“On the tax collection trends, the GST collections have recorded an average monthly revenue of around Rs 0.9 lakh crore to April 2024 since its implementation in July 2017. The Indian economy is on a fast track to formalisation and businesses are fast becoming organised and are coming into the mainstream,” said Vivek Jalan, partner at Tax Connect Advisory Services LLP, adding the GST revenues have witnessed an approximate growth of 13 per cent per annum on an average between July 2017 and April 2024.
Deloitte India Partner Mahesh Jaising also said that the consistent buoyancy in GST collections has set the stage for pursuing forward-thinking reforms under GST 2.0, while PwC India Partner Pratik Jain said with the next wave of GST reforms expected after the formation of the new government, the growth in GST collections may be further accelerated.
