In a notable development, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection has surged by 11.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY), reaching an impressive Rs 1.78 lakh crore in the month of March. The Finance Ministry has reported that this figure marks the second-highest collection ever recorded, reflecting a robust performance in revenue generation despite prevailing economic circumstances.
GST collection for last fiscal
The gross GST collection for the last fiscal (April 2023-March 2024) stood at Rs 20.14 lakh crore, 11.7 per cent higher than the mop-up in the preceding fiscal. The average monthly gross collection for FY24 stood at Rs 1.68 lakh crore, exceeding Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the preceding fiscal.
"Gross Good and Services Tax (GST) revenue for March 2024 witnessed the second highest collection ever at Rs 1.78 lakh crore, with an 11.5 per cent year-on-year growth. This surge was driven by a significant rise in GST collection from domestic transactions at 17.6 per cent," the ministry said in a statement.
When was highest-ever GST collection recorded?
The highest-ever GST collection was recorded at Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023. GST revenue net of refunds for March 2024 was Rs 1.65 lakh crore, 18.4 per cent higher over the same period a year ago.
What is Goods and Services Tax?
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a successor to VAT used in India on the supply of goods and services. GST is a digitalized form of VAT where you can also track the goods & services. Both VAT and GST have the same taxation slabs. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes. The GST is divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax: 0 per cent, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. However, petroleum products, alcoholic drinks, and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state governments.
(With PTI inputs)
