New Delhi: Gross revenues from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hit a record high in December 2020, as the collections of ₹ 1.15 lakh crore.
At Rs 1.15 crore, the collections were 10 percent more than the previous month, the biggest growth in monthly revenues in the last 21 months.
Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Finance Secretary told ANI, “A record-high GST collection of over Rs 1.15 lakh cr in Dec is because our economy is on the path of recovery. We’ve brought many changes at the system level for better compliance. We’re taking targeted action against those who have discrepancies in their record.”
He further said, “In the last 1.5 to 2 months, we have arrested over 180 people including managing directors of companies and chartered accountants for tax evasion. They have not been able to get bail because of the seriousness of their tax frauds.”
The past best was in April 2019 when Rs 113,866 crore was gathered. This is the third consecutive month of over Rs 1 lakh crore tax collections and the fourth continuous month this fiscal when GST collections have beaten tantamount months from 2019, an indication of solid recovery.
GST collections, which straightforwardly mirror the condition of economic activity, had dived to a divided low of Rs 32,172 crore in April 2020, after the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19.
During December 2020, incomes from the import of products were 27 percent higher and incomes from homegrown exchanges were 8 percent higher than the receipts from these sources during the exact month of 2019.
Revenue in April was Rs 32,172 crore, followed by May (Rs 62,151 crore), June (Rs 90,917 crore), July (Rs 87,422 crore), August (Rs 86,449 crore), September (Rs 95,480 crore), October (Rs 1,05,155 crore), November (Rs 1,04,963 crore) and December (Rs 1,15,174 crore).
The GST income in April-December 2020 was down 14 percent contrasted with a similar time of the earlier year.
The average growth in GST collections during the October-December quarter has been 7.3 percent when contrasted with a negative 8.2 percent during the July-September quarter.