Centre, states collect ₹1.73 tn in GST revenue in September

New Delhi: Central and state governments mopped up ₹1.73 trillion in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in September, 6.5% more than what was collected in the same month a year ago, official data showed.

These revenue receipts are the lowest in four months, but given the strong collections earlier in the year, the monthly average in the first half of the current fiscal remains at ₹1.81 trillion, compared with ₹1.68 trillion in the same period in FY24.

In September last year, the government had collected a GST revenue of ₹1.63 trillion.

Tax refunds

Businesses were given tax refunds of ₹20,458 crore in September. Over ₹11,000 crore was collected as cess from products like automobiles and aerated drinks which are placed in the 28% GST slab.

After refunds, Central GST revenue stood at ₹28,775 crore and state GST at ₹36,037 crore.

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Among large state economies, Haryana and Delhi reported 24% and 20% annual growth in revenue collections in September. However, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra reported only 3% and 5% annual growth respectively. Tamil Nadu too reported a 5% annual growth, while Karnataka reported an 8% annual revenue growth.

In the first half of the fiscal, Centre and states collected ₹10.87 trillion before tax refunds, showing a 9.5% growth.

Experts said the September revenue collection figure, representing August sales, was a tad below expectations.

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While GST revenue so far this fiscal has grown by over 9%, the monthly growth is perhaps less than expected, said Pratik Jain, partner at PwC India. This may need a closer look by the GST Council, particularly in the wake of rate rationalization exercise, Jain said.

However, with the festive season coming, revenue collection for the next couple of months might improve, Jain said.

Revenue receipts for the coming months of the festive season will be eagerly watched as they are also a proxy for economic growth, added M.S. Mani, partner at Deloitte India.

The significant increase in GST refunds, especially Integrated GST export refunds, shows the efforts of the tax authorities in expediting refunds and in simplifying the refund process. “The tepid single digit growth in GST revenues in many of the large states should, hopefully get corrected in the coming months,” said Mani.

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The festive season which starts in August and continues till end of the year is expected to give a strong boost to consumption in the economy and help GST revenue receipts to remain buoyant.

According to the Reserve Bank of India, household consumption is currently being supported by a turnaround in rural demandand steady discretionary spending in urban areas. Strong capital expenditure by the government and private investments are also giving support to economic activities.

The RBI expects the economy to grow at 7.2% in the current financial year, down from 8.2% growth in the year before.