GST collection rises 10% to ₹1.63 lakh cr in Sept

India's goods and services tax collections grew 10% year-on-year to ₹1.63 lakh crore in September 2023 compared with ₹1.47 lakh crore in the same month last year, shows the finance ministry data released on Sunday.

This is the fourth time the gross GST collection has crossed the 1.60 lakh crore mark in the financial year 2023-24.

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of September stood at ₹1,62,712 crore out of which CGST is ₹29,818 crore, SGST is ₹37,657 crore, IGST is ₹83,623 crore (including ₹41,145 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹11,613 crore (including ₹881 crore collected on import of goods).

As per the finance ministry, the government has settled ₹33,736 crore to CGST and ₹27,578 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of the Centre and the States in the month of September 2023 after regular settlement is ₹63,555 crore for CGST and ₹65,235 crore for SGST.

During the month, the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 14% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

The gross GST collection for the first half of the FY24 ending September 2023 stood at ₹9,92,508 crore, 11% higher than the gross GST collection in the first half of FY23 at ₹8,93,334 crore. The average monthly gross collection in FY24 is ₹1.65 lakh crore, which is 11% higher than average monthly gross collection for the first half of FY23, which was ₹1.49 lakh crore.

This comes a day after the finance ministry notified October 1 as the date for implementation of the amended GST law provisions for taxing e-gaming, casinos and horse racing. 28% GST on online gaming will be applicable from today.

In August, the Parliament passed the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 incorporating the definition of ‘online money gaming’ making the activity a specified ‘actionable claim’ liable to tax and also bringing into the fold virtual digital assets – cryptocurrency – under the ambit of the law so that crypto transactions are not used as tax evasion tools. The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was also passed by Parliament. The amendments provide for the imposition of GST on online money gaming by offshore entities, which would now need GST registration in India.

“Online money gaming means online gaming in which players pay or deposit money or money's worth, including virtual digital assets, in the expectation of winning money or money's worth, including virtual digital assets, in any event including game, scheme, competition or any other activity or process, whether or not its outcome or performance is based on skill, chance or both,” says the clause defining online money gaming and use of cryptocurrency in online gaming.