GST collection crosses Rs 1-trn mark for the fourth month in a row in Feb

The mop-up could have been much higher, but tax on imports fell 2 per cent year-on-year

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection crossed the Rs 1-trillion-mark for the fourth month in a row in February at Rs 1.05 trillion. The GST collection, which grew 8.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the month, was a tad lower than Rs 1.10 trillion mopped up in the previous month.

GST collection had grown 8.1 per cent y-o-y in January. The mop-up could have been much higher, but tax on imports fell 2 per cent y-o-y. However, experts ruled out the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China on imports since these are contracted three months in advance. The earlier GST collection target for FY20 required January and February mop-up to be at Rs 1.15 trillion each and that for March to be at Rs 1.25 trillion. However, the Centre truncated the target for its part of the GST, compensation cess and integrated GST by Rs 51,000 crore in the revised estimates for FY20.

The collections have exceeded Rs 1-trillion-mark each month since November. However, experts said it could be due to blockage of input credits. “One will have to see how much of it is due to restriction and blockage of input credits, which has been happening in the last three months or so,” said Pratik Jain, partner PwC..