GST collection of states, union territories increased to Rs 5.18 lakh crore in FY19, says Nirmala Sitharaman

GST collection of states and union territories increased to Rs 5.18 lakh crore in the financial year 2018-19, a significant rise from Rs 2.91 lakh crore in 2017-18, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Parliament on Monday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister said the Centre government released Rs 81,177 crore compensation to the states during the fiscal year 2018-19 against Rs 48,178 crore released in FY18.

Saying the high-powered GST Council had made several efforts to improve tax compliance in the country, Sitharaman said: "The GST collection of the states/UTs has been showing steady improvement over the period of time. In addition, they have also assured the growth of 14 per cent for a period of five years through the payment of compensation by the central government."

She said efforts like extensive automation of business processes, application of e-way bill mechanism, targeted action on compliance verification, enforcement based on risk assessment and proposed introduction of electronic invoice system had improved the GST revenue collection.

The GST collection figure dipped below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the first time in the current fiscal in June (Rs 99,939 crore). The indirect tax revenue for March was Rs 1,06,577 crore, Rs 1,13,865 crore in April, and Rs 1,00,289 crore in May. Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out on July 1, 2017, after subsuming 17 local taxes.

Last month, the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, met for the first time after the Modi government returned to power. The council extended the tenure of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority by two years till November 2021 and allowed the use of Aadhaar as proof for obtaining GST registration. The matter of tax cut on electric vehicles and their chargers was also sent to the fitment committee for further consideration.

Manoj Sharma with PTI inputs

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