GST Collections In February Dip Below Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore

The goods and services tax collections for February dipped below the Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

The gross GST collections in February for transactions in January stood at Rs 1,49,577 crore, an increase of 12% over a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

It fell from Rs 1.55 lakh crore in the previous month. The statement said February is a shorter month with 28 days, which is also reflected in the collections.

To be sure, GST data is released with a month's lag and pertains to transactions in the preceding month.

Aditi Nayar, ICRA’s Chief Economist, views the dip in collections from a different perspective—where last month’s collections benefitted from quarter-ending inflows.

"The sequential dip in the GST collections in February 2023 is partly on account of the boost to the January figure from the quarter-ending inflows (for the month of December, which were remitted in the following month)."

Break-Up of GST Collection

• Gross GST revenue: Rs 1,49,577 crore

• Central GST: Rs 27,662 crore

• State GST: Rs 34,915 crore

• Integrated GST: Rs 75,069 crore, including Rs 35,689 crore collected on imports of goods.

• Cess: Rs 11,931 crore, including Rs 792 crore collected on imports of goods.

"This month witnessed the highest cess collection of Rs 11,931 crore since the implementation of the GST. Normally, February, being a 28 day month, witnesses a relatively lower collection of revenue," an official release said.

Revenues from the import of goods were 6% higher, and revenues from domestic transactions, including the import of services, were 15% higher than revenue from these sources during the same month last year.

Nayar also notes a sizable divergence in the growth of the revenues from imported goods—at 6% YoY—and those from domestic transactions—at 15% YoY—in February 2023.

"The GST revenues from imports of goods are likely to have been dampened by the sequential and YoY contraction in merchandise imports in January 2023," she added.

ICRA expects the FY23 revised estimates for CGST collections (Rs 7.24 lakh crore) to be met. However, they feel that there could be some shortfall in direct taxes relative to the FY23 revised estimates, pegged at Rs 16.5 lakh crore.

Trends indicate that the last quarter usually registers increased collections, and March logs the highest collection figure of the year. March 2022 registered the highest-ever collections at Rs 1.67 lakh crore.

In its revised estimates, the government pegged the GST collections for the current fiscal at Rs 8.54 lakh crore, up from Rs 7.8 lakh crore, indicating a healthy growth from the conservative estimates at the start of the year.

The GST breached the Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark last month and hovered around the same mark in December. The collections have also remained above the Rs 1.4 lakh crore threshold for 12 months, indicating that the revenues have stabilised. The growth could be attributable to both the increase in transactions as well as the compliance measures undertaken by the department in terms of analytics.

State-wise collections indicate that Maharashtra, followed by Karnataka, retained their positions as top-earning states. Maharashtra registered a 15% YoY growth in collections at Rs 22,349 crore, due to the size of its tax base. Karnataka collected Rs 10,809 crore, an 18% jump from its previous year’s collection for the same month.

Other notable GST collection growths include Haryana, which saw a 23% YoY growth from Rs 5,928 crores to Rs 7,310 crore in February 2023. Similarly, Tamil Nadu logged Rs 8,774 crore in collections, marking a 19% YoY growth.