Collection issues with GST regime

After the 25th meeting of the goods and services tax (GST) Council on Thursday, the Union finance minister flagged falling revenues as a major concern and talked of tougher measures to curb evasion. The trade should now get ready to answer many queries regarding the transitional credits claimed, classification, correctness of returns filed and so on.

To be fair, collection of a mere Rs 3070 million from about 1.7 million composition dealers in the July-September quarter is a surprise. Even assuming a minimum annual turnover of Rs 2 million (Rs  0.5 million for a quarter), one per cent of the turnover