GST collection surges 12.5% to nearly Rs 1.7 lakh crore in February

NEW DELHI: Gross GST revenue rose by 12.5% year-on year to Rs 1.68 lakh crore in Feb, sustaining the strong momentum in the receipts as growth remains robust.
Average monthly gross GST collection for 2023-24 is Rs 1.67 lakh crore, exceeding the Rs 1.5 lakh crore for 2022-23, according to a finance ministry statement on Friday. This was the fourth highest monthly collection.
The growth in Feb was driven by 13.9% rise in GST collection from domestic transactions and 8.5% increase in GST mop-up from import of goods.GST revenue net of refunds for Feb 2024 was over Rs 1.5 lakh crore, a growth of 13.6% over same period last year.

The statement said that gross GST collection reached Rs 18.4 lakh crore for 2023-24, up 11.7% year-on-year. It said that GST revenue net of refunds as of Feb 2024 for the current fiscal year was Rs 16.4 lakh crore, which is a growth of 13% over the mop-up for same period last year. “Overall, the GST revenue figures demonstrate continued growth momentum and positive performance,” according to the statement.
Several measures taken by the government have helped plug loopholes and raised compliance, while robust economic growth has also helped in strong performance. Experts said the trend in collection reflected the strong consumption momentum.
“Coming on the back of robust GDP numbers for the third quarter, the impressive GST collection figure of Rs 1.68 lakh crore is reflecting the broad-based consumption increase across sectors as GST is a consumption tax,” said M S Mani, partner at consulting firm Deloitte India.
“The impressive GST collections for Feb will provide further comfort to govt that the tax collection targets for the year will be exceeded by a good margin. Almost all major states have shown an impressive increase in GST collections, ranging from 8% to 21%, demonstrating that the consumption growth is across states as GST is a destination-based consumption tax,” said Mani.
The highest-ever GST collection was recorded at Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023, followed by Rs 1.74 lakh crore in Jan 2024, and Rs 1.72 lakh crore in Oct 2023. In Feb 2024, the collections came in at Rs 1.68 lakh crore, the fourth-highest monthly collections so far.
The economy has remained resilient against the backdrop of global challenges and latest data showed that GDP grew at its fastest pace in one-and-half years at 8.4% in Oct-Dec quarter. Growth for 2023-24 was revised upwards to 7.6% from the earlier estimate of 7.3%, making India one of the fastest growing major economies in the world. There are expectations that growth will remain robust in the fourth quarter as well, which should help in strong GST receipts.