Analysts said the tepid growth in the GST revenue collection at the beginning of the festive season indicates sluggishness in the economic growth.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: Revenue collection from Goods and Services Tax (GST) increased by 6.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.73 lakh crore in September even though on a sequential basis it was marginally lower, official data showed on Tuesday.
GST revenue collection in August stood at Rs 1.75 lakh crore. In September 2023 it was Rs 1.62 lakh crore.
After refunds, the GST mop-up in September 2024 stood at Rs 1.53 lakh crore, which is 3.9 per cent higher when compared with the same month last year.
Analysts said the tepid growth in the GST revenue collection at the beginning of the festive season indicates sluggishness in the economic growth.
“The GST revenues for the coming months of the festive season will be eagerly watched as they are also a proxy for the economic growth and can be correlated with the GDP numbers,” said MS Mani, Partner, Deloitte India.
There was a sluggish growth in revenue collection in major states. Maharashtra, which contributes the highest amount of money to the country’s GST kitty, witnessed a sluggish year-on-year growth of 5 per cent. GST revenue collection in Karnataka increased by 8 per cent to Rs 12,642 crore in September from Rs 11,693 crore recorded in the same month last year.
Revenue collection in Gujarat was nearly flat at Rs 10,153 crore, while Tamil Nadu and Kerala posted a growth of 5 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
However, poll-bound Haryana posted a robust year-on-year expansion of 24 per cent and in Delhi it increased by 20 per cent.
“The tepid single digit growth in GST revenues in many of the large states should, hopefully, be corrected in the coming months,” said Mani.
Cumulative collection from GST in April-September period of the current financial year stood at Rs 10.87 lakh crore, which is 9.5 per cent higher when compared with the corresponding period of the last year. After refunds, the GST collection in the first six months of the current financial year stood at Rs 9.59 lakh crore, 9.1 per cent higher over Rs 8.79 lakh crore recorded in April-September 2023 period.
“While collections for this month haven’t shown significant increases, it is anticipated that next month's collections should see a significant increase due to the upcoming festive season,” said Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY India.