GST collections at Rs 96,483 crore in July, shows signs of stabilisation

GST revenue collections for the month of July reached Rs 96,483 crore, which remains broadly on expected lines, according to a statement by the Ministry of Finance. The tax revenue from GST collection increased in comparison to Rs 95,610 crore seen during the month of June.

Tax collections under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) have been rising steadily since June after a sharp decline to Rs 94,016 crore in May from Rs 1.03 crore in April this year.

"This is broadly on expected lines. The total number of GSTR-3B returns filed for the month of July up to July 31, 2018 is 66 lakh compared to GSTR-3B returns filed for the month of June up to June 30, 2018 was 64.69 lakh," the finance ministry said in its statement.

The government collected Rs 15,877 crore under Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Rs 22,293 crore under State Goods and Services Tax (SGST). Collections under Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) amounted to Rs 49,951 crore, which also includes Rs 24,852 crore collected on imports. In July, cess collections amounted to Rs 8,362 crore, including Rs 794 crore collected on imports.

Also, Rs 3,899 crore has been released to the States as GST compensation for the months of April-May, 2018, according to the ministry.

While steady increase in GST collections have been observed in the past couple of months, it remains to be seen how the recent GST rate cuts will affect collections in the month of August. Especially, when GST collections are not at par with government estimates of Rs 1 lakh crore. Last month on the occasion of GST Day, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had said that Rs 1 lakh crore in GST collections is still not the norm and they expect to reach the mark every month in coming days.

Edited by Vivek Punj