The indirect tax collections were 27% higher than that in March 2020.
The gross GST collections in March hit a record of тВ╣1,23,902 crore, the Union Finance Ministry said on Thursday. This is the sixth month in a row that GST revenues have remained above тВ╣1 lakh crore.
тАЬThe GST collections for March have created a record; it has never been so high. We have crossed the record collections by a good margin,тАЭ Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj told Today News 24.
The indirect tax collections in March were 27% higher than that in March 2020, with revenues from import of goods 70% more than a year ago, and the revenues from domestic transaction, including import of services, 17% higher.
тАЬGST revenues crossed above тВ╣1 lakh crore mark at a stretch for the last six months and a steep increasing trend over this period are clear indicators of rapid economic recovery post pandemic,тАЭ the Ministry said in a statement, pointing to the 14% growth in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2020-21, compared with a 41% decline in the first lockdown-hit quarter.
Apart from a recovery in the economy, GST collections were also bolstered by closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources, including GST, Income Tax and Customs IT systems, and effective tax administration over the past few months, the Ministry said.
тАЬThe all-time high GST collection … shows a sustained economic recovery and also is a result of audit closures and the government tightening compliance and anti-evasion measures,тАЭ said Abhishek Jain, tax partner at EY.
The CGST collections in the month stood at тВ╣22,973 crore, SGST at тВ╣29,329 crore, IGST at тВ╣62,842 crore, including тВ╣31,097 crore collected on import of goods, and cess at тВ╣ 8,757 crore, including тВ╣935 crore collected on import of goods.
