GST revenue rises 56% to ₹1.44 lakh cr in June

The gross GST (Goods and Services Tax) revenue collection in June 2022 stood at ₹1,44,616 crore, which is the second-highest after April's collection of ₹1,67,540 crore. The GST collection for June 2022 is 56% higher than the ₹92,800 crore revenue in June 2021. This is the fifth time the monthly GST collection crossed the ₹1.40-lakh-crore mark since the inception of GST and the fourth month at a stretch since March 2022, says the finance ministry.

The finance ministry data shows that of the entire collection of ₹1.44 lakh crore, ₹25,306 crore is CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax), ₹32,406 crore is SGST (State Goods and Services Tax), and ₹75,887 crore (including ₹40,102 crore collected on import of goods) is IGST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax). Cess collection stood at ₹11,018 crore, including ₹1,197 crore collected on import of goods.

"The government has settled ₹29,588 crore to CGST and ₹24,235 crore to SGST from IGST. In addition, it has also settled ₹27,000 crore of IGST on an ad-hoc basis in the ratio of 50:50 between Centre and states/UTs in this month," says the ministry. It adds that the total revenue of the Centre and the states in June 2022, after regular and ad-hoc settlement, is ₹68,394 crore for CGST and ₹70,141 crore for the SGST.

During June, the revenue from the import of goods was 55% higher and the revenue from domestic transactions, including the import of services, was 56% higher than the collection during the same period last year.

According to the Centre, the June collection is not only the second-highest but also has broken the trend of being a low collection month as observed in the past. The total number of e-way bills generated in May 2022 was 7.3 crore, which is 2% less than the 7.4 crore e-way bills generated in April 2022.

With this, the average monthly gross GST collection for the first quarter of the FY2022-23 has been ₹1.51 lakh crore against the average monthly collection of ₹1.10 lakh crore in the same quarter last fiscal, showing an increase of 37%.

The finance ministry has attributed economic recovery, anti-evasion activities, and especially action against fake billers, as reasons for the enhanced GST revenue collection. The gross cess collection in June is the highest since the introduction of the GST, it says.

Notably, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while announcing the decisions taken in the 47th GST Council meeting in Chandigarh on Thursday, said the Council has decided to defer bringing online gaming, casinos and horse racing under GST for now after some issues were raised by Goa. She adds that after Goa's request for special treatment for casinos, the GST Council decided the GoM on the agenda will get more time to hear casinos as well as stakeholders from online games and horse racing industries.

She added the issue of the correction of inversion and exemption was taken up during the GST meeting, but the rate rationalisation aspect was not. On the issue of compensation cess, the FM said no final decision was taken during the GST meeting but the issue will be taken up again in August.