The Finance Minister of India, on Sunday, announced the figures of Goods and services tax (GST) collected for the month of January. The GST collection for the month of Jaunary stood at a whopping ₹1.19 lakh crore, which is an all-time high ever since the GST was introduced in the country.
“The GST revenues during January 2021 are the highest since the introduction of GST and has almost touched the ₹ 1.2 lakh crore mark, exceeding the last month’s record collection of ₹ 1.15 lakh crore,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
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This is the fourth month in a row when GST collection has breached the government-favoured ₹1 lakh crore mark. The trend clearly indicates a boost in economic activities in the county post lockdown period; leading the county towards, what government claims, a ‘V-shaped’ economic recovery.
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However, the GST collection doesn’t highlight the current condition of the informal sector in the country that constitutes the poorest of poor and has been (and continues to be) affected the most due to the lockdown. The lockdown has increased the inequality in the country with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The trend is what prompts many economists to believe that India is headed towards a ‘K-shaped’ economic recovery (when different sections of an economy recover at starkly different rates) and not a V-shaped.
“The gross GST revenue collected in the month of January 2021 till 6 PM on 31.01.2021 is ₹ 1,19,847 crore of which CGST is ₹ 21,923 crore, SGST is ₹ 29,014 crore, IGST is ₹ 60,288 crore (including ₹ 27,424 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹ 8,622 crore (including ₹ 883 crore collected on import of goods). The total number of GSTR-3B Returns filed for the month of December up to 31st January 2021 is ₹ 90 lakh,” the finance ministry said.
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Notably, the revenue clocked in January 2021 is 8% higher than what was collected in January 2020 (₹ 1.1 lakh crore), which is a good sign for the government ahead of the economic budget presentation.
During the month, revenue from import of goods was 16 per cent higher and the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 6 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.
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Meanwhile, ahead of the budget presentation, Sensex too surged by 518 points. Meanwhile, rupee appreciated by 8 paise to 72.88 against the US dollar in opening trade.
