GST July mopup rises 11%, tops Rs 1.65 lakh cr on stable economy

Goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 11% to Rs 1.65 lakh crore in July on the back of stable economic recovery and improved compliance. The collections crossed the Rs 1.6 lakh crore mark for the fifth time since the roll out of the new indirect tax regime in July 2017.

Experts say the collections were in line with the trend and showed improving compliance.

"Steady collections exceeding Rs 1.6 lakh crore over the past few months reflect an increasing awareness across businesses that GST compliance is essential and any non-compliance will get picked up immediately," MS Mani, partner, Deloitte India said.


The recent measures taken by the government to further plug tax evasion will improve compliance.

The Centre has made e-invoicing mandatory for businesses with a turnover exceeding Rs 5 crore in any of the financial years starting from 2017-18. It has brought the GST Network (GSTN) under the ambit of Prevention of Money Laundering Act that will aid in information sharing between the enforcement directorate and the GST authorities.

"GST collections can be expected to be in a positive space with the said change combined with the data intelligence and other similar measures," Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner, EY LLP said.

For instance, information sharing by Financial Intelligence Unit with GSTN is likely to further empower GST authorities to initiate new investigations based on the leads and information received from FIU, Agarwal added.

The upcoming festive season will only add to the momentum.

"With approaching normal period of limitation for FY18 and the approaching festive season, this cheer is expected to only increase," Abhishek Jain, partner, KPMG says.

During the month, revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) were 15% higher than in the year-ago period, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Of the total collections, central GST was Rs 29,773 crore, state GST Rs 37,623 crore, and integrated GST Rs 85,930 crore including Rs 41,239 crore collected on import of goods.

The cess collections for the month stood at Rs 11,779 crore, including Rs 840 crore collected on import of goods.

The government has settled Rs 39,785 crore to CGST and Rs 33,188 crore to SGST from IGST.