April GST collections cross Rs 1 trillion, Jaitely terms it 'landmark'

The government mopped up Rs 1.03 lakh crore in GST collection in April, indicating stabilisation of the new indirect tax regime which was rolled out on July 1 last year

Buoyed by GST collections exceeding Rs 1 trillion in April, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it is a landmark achievement and a confirmation of increased economic activity.

The government mopped up over Rs 1 trillion in GST collection in April, indicating stabilisation of the new indirect tax regime which was rolled out on July 1 last year.

While Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in entire 2017-18 stood Rs 7.41 trillion, in March the figure was Rs 892.6 bn.

"GST collections in April exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) is a landmark achievement and a confirmation of increased economic activity as brought out by other reports," Jaitley said in a tweet.

In another tweet, he said that with the improved economic climate, introduction of e-way bill and improved GST compliance, the indirect collections would continue to show a positive trend.

Earlier in the day, the finance ministry said: "The total gross GST revenue collected in April 2018 is Rs 1.03 trillion of which CGST is Rs 186.52 bn, SGST is Rs 257.04 bn, IGST is Rs 505.48 bn (including Rs 212.46 bn collected on imports) and Cess is Rs 85.54 bn - including Rs 7.02 bn collected on imports.

The buoyancy in the tax revenue of GST reflects the upswing in the economy and better compliance, the ministry said in a press release.

However, it is usually noticed that in the last month of the financial year, people also try to pay arrears of some of the previous months also and, therefore, April 2018 revenue cannot be taken as a trend for the future, it added.

The total revenue earned by the central and state governments, after settlement in April, is Rs 324.93 bn for Central GST and Rs 402.57 bn for State GST, it said.

As far as the total number of GSTR 3B returns for March up to April 30 is concerned, nearly 69.5 per cent have filed returns.

As many as 6 mn as against 8.7 mn, who are eligible to file returns for March, did the needful, it said.

April was also the month for the filing of quarterly returns for composition dealers, it said.

Out of 1.9 mn composition dealers, 1.1 mn have filed their quarterly return (GSTR 4) and have paid the total tax of Rs 5.79 bn, which is included in Rs 1.03 trillion of total GST collection, it added.