The Finance Ministry on Wednesday released the GST collection data for the first three months of the current fiscal. The June collection exceeded ₹90,000 crore, but it was 9 per cent less than the mop-up in the same month last year. This is the first GST data after the pandemic crippled the economy.
The collection was ₹90,917 crore in June, ₹62,009 crore in May and ₹32,294 crore in April. “The GST (Goods and Services Tax) collection for the first quarter of the year is 41 per cent less than the revenue collected during the same quarter last year. However, a large number of taxpayers still have time to file their return for May, ” the statement said.
The collection in June this year is 91 per cent of the GST revenue in the same month last year. The revenue collected from import of goods was 71 per cent of the revenue from the same source in June last year. Revenue from domestic transactions in June 2020 (including import of services) is 97 per cent of the revenue collected under this source during the same month last year.
In June, returns of February 2019, March 2019, and April 2020 have been filed in addition to some returns of May 2020 as the government has allowed a relaxed time schedule for filing of GST returns. Some returns of May, which would have otherwise got filed in June, will get filed during the first few days of July . Commenting on the numbers, Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said the increase in GST collection in June is a positive sign and it is an indication that the economy is slowly recovering.
However, it is important to note that many companies paid GST for March, April and May also, in June due to the partial moratorium extended by the government.
“It will be interesting to wait and see how much GST is collected for supplies made in June after unlock 1.0, which will be the true indicator of the economic situation post-lockdown,” he said.
"One fact to be taken into consideration while looking at these collection numbers is that revenue collections are post announcement of government schemes, which were aimed to relax the collection of revenues. These all-cumulative scenarios signify that domestic consumption is back on track, as also the strong comeback of SMEs,” said Kapil Rana, Founder and Chairman, HostBooks Ltd.