GST revenue crosses the INR 1.2 lakh crore mark in January

The collections for GST touched new highs as the total revenue touched INR 1.2 lakh crore in January. It had a sharp recovery since the nation-wide lockdown, manifested in record returns of 90 lakh crore.

The deadline for the annual filing was also extended to December 31 which might have resulted in businesses clearing the entire liabilities and paying more taxes.

While Nirmala Sitaraman, Union Finance Minister, is set to lower the estimates for the current financial year when the budget would be presented, but the latest data would be encouraging despite the worst economic challenges in the past few decades.

The records suggest that import revenues went up 16%, while the domestic transactions, and were 6% higher. Experts believe that companies are looking for more hiring which has led to more money at their disposal for people.

The recent crackdown of fraudsters has also helped in compliance and bolstered collections. Since November, 274 people with 2700 cases have been arrested. The drive has helped a collection of INR 858 crore from their entities, Government said.

Experts also believe that this growing trend of GST collections will continue to surge upwards in the coming months with more sectors opening up such as aviation, hospitality and entertainment. 

For the last four months, the average monthly mop-up has been to the mark of 1.1 lakh crores. The average growth in GST revenue over the first 4 months in the second half of the financial year has been 8% compared to 24% during the first half of the current financial year.