Goods and services tax (GST) collections hit a record monthly high of Rs 1.41 lakh crore in April which is pointing to a recovering economy before the Covid pandemic exploded.  April GST collections, for transactions in the previous month, are 14% higher than the Rs 1.24 lakh crore collected in March, according to official data.

This is the seventh successive month collections have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. The improvement came despite the second wave of Covid-19 affecting several parts of the country and was indicative of the resilience of Indian businesses, the finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“These are clear indicators of sustained economic recovery during this period,” the ministry said. Experts said the collections could decline going ahead as the pandemic surge has led to closures in many states.  “The all-time high collections which relate to supplies made in March 2021 could now give way to muted collections in the coming months due to the lower economic activities in April,” said MS Mani, senior director at Deloitte India. The April revenue comprised central GST of Rs 27,837 crore, state GST of Rs 35,621 crore, integrated GST (IGST) of Rs 68,481 crore and cess of Rs 9,445 crore.
 

The continuing focus on improving compliance and the steps taken to curb evasion appears to be significantly improving the GST collections

After IGST settlements by the Centre, states received a total Rs 58,377 crore in April while the Centre collected Rs 57,022 crore. Measures to increase compliance and check evasion have also boosted collections.

Measures to increase compliance and check evasion have also boosted collections. Closer monitoring against fake billing, deep data analytics using information from multiple sources such as GST, income tax and customs IT systems and effective tax administration have contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue, the finance ministry said. “The continuing focus on improving compliance and the steps taken to curb evasion appears to be significantly improving the GST collections,” Mani said.