Interim Budget eases GST estimate, collection rises to 84% of target

The government has revised the goods and services tax (GST) collection target, making it easier to achieve. In the interim Budget presented on Friday, the central GST (CGST) estimate has been revised downward by Rs 1 trillion to Rs 5.04 trillion due to shortfall in the current financial year.
 
With the new estimate, the overall collection to date stands at 84 per cent of the target in 10 months as against the earlier figure of 78 per cent. GST collection in January had touched Rs 1.03 trillion, taking the overall collection in April-January 2018-19 to Rs 9.71 trillion or 78 per cent of the original annual target.
 
The January 2019 collection was 14 per cent higher year on year. "Collections in April, October and January (for sales made in March, September and December, respectively) have been more than Rs 1 trillion.
 
It seems to indicate that sales in the last month of quarter are usually more, possibly because of the push by bigger corporates," said Pratik Jain, partner, indirect tax, PwC India.