April GST collections hit record high of INR 2.10 lakh crore

In April, India’s Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections soared to a historic high of INR 2.10 lakh crore, marking a robust 12.4% increase compared to the previous year, announced the Finance Ministry on Wednesday. This surge follows March’s GST collection of INR 1.78 lakh crore. Notably, the previous peak in GST collection was recorded at INR 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023. According to ministry reports, the driving force behind this growth was a 13.4% rise in domestic transactions and an 8.3% increase in imports.

After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands impressively at INR 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting a remarkable 17.1% growth compared to the corresponding period last year. In April, Finance Ministry officials had earlier projected the figure to surpass the INR 2 lakh crore mark.

Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, anticipates that GST revenue, a consumption tax, will surpass INR 1.8 lakh crore per month on average in FY25. For FY24, the average GST collection was INR 1.68 lakh crore, while it stood at INR 1.51 lakh crore in FY23. Notably, an Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) amounting to INR 50,307 crore for the Centre and INR 41,600 crore for the states has been cleared.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified in a post on X, “This IGST settlement of INR 91,907 crore exceeds the actual net IGST collections of INR 87,494 crore and has been settled by the Central Government.” She added, “There are no outstanding dues regarding IGST settlement to the states.”

Source: Economic Times