GST collection hits 2nd highest mark on festive demand surge

New Delhi: Monthly revenue collection from Goods and Services Tax (GST) surged by 13% year-on-year to Rs 1.72 lakh crore in October, the second highest ever, indicating strong momentum in the economy and improved compliance, according to official data released on Wednesday.

The highest ever GST collection was recorded in April 2023, at Rs 1.87 lakh crore. The average gross monthly GST collection in the current financial year till October stands at Rs 1.66 lakh crore, which is 11 per cent higher when compared with the same period’s average of last year. In September 2023, the GST revenue collection stood at Rs 1.63 lakh crore. 

“The sales push towards the end of September quarter, coupled with higher consumer demand due to festivals may have contributed to the increase as well,” said Pratik Jain, Partner at PwC India.

According to data released by the Union Finance Ministry, the gross GST revenue collected in October stood at Rs 1.72 lakh crore.

Of this, Rs 30,062 crore is Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Rs 38,171 crore is State Goods and Services Tax (SGST), Rs 91,315 crore is Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and Rs 12,456 crore is cess.

“GST collections recorded a meaningful sequential uptick to a higher than anticipated Rs 1.72 lakh crore in October 2023, benefiting from quarter-end adjustments related to transactions in the previous month as well as the overall momentum in the economy,” said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA.

With this, the pace of year-on-year growth jumped to a 10-month high in October 2023, which is encouraging. At present, we project the CGST collections to mildly exceed the FY 2023-24 budget estimate, she added.

The government has settled Rs 42,873 crore to CGST and Rs 36,614 crore to SGST from IGST, the Union finance ministry said in a statement.

The total revenue of the Centre and the states in October 2023 after regular settlement is Rs 72,934 crore for CGST and Rs 74,785 crore for SGST. Pre-settlement SGST in Karnataka in the April-October period of the current financial year rose to Rs 23,400 crore from Rs 20,165 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year, registering year-on-year growth of 16 per cent. Post-settlement of state share from IGST, Karnataka received Rs Rs 42,657 crore in revenue in the October period of the current fiscal from Rs 37,924 crore recorded in the corresponding period of 2022-23, registering a growth of 12 per cent.