India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in March 2021 is expected to touch a record high of around Rs. 1.30 lakh crore on the backdrop of a rapid economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and a hard lockdown necessitated by it, two people aware of the development said.
The people, who asked not to be named, attributed the enhanced collections also to stricter compliance through e-invoicing, which had made it difficult to evade tax.
The revenue in March may cross the record Rs. 1,19,875 crore collected in January by at least Rs. 10,000 crore, the people said.
The recovery in GST collections reflects the larger revival in the economy. India’s economy shrank by 24.4% in the three months ended June 30 and 7.3% in the three months ended October, before entering growth territory and expanding by 0.4% in the three months ended December 31. The government has estimated the entire year’s GDP contraction at 8%, although many experts expect it to do better.
After remaining in contraction mode for six months in a row, since March 2020 India imposed a 68-day-long hard lockdown in late March GST collections started growing from September 2020. GST collections, which plunged to an all-time low at Rs. 32,172 crore in April 2020, touched a record Rs. 1,19,875 crore in January. The latest GST collection figure was Rs. 1,13,143 crore for February 2021, a 7.3% year-on-year growth.
Source from: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/record-gst-collections-expected-in-march-101615226194453.html