February GST collection a tad below Rs 1.5 lakh cr; up 12% on-year, above Rs 1.4 lakh cr for 12 months in a row

GST collection in February fell short of Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark by a whisker after hitting it in January. The government’s GST collection in February rose 12 per cent on-year to Rs 149,577 crore – 12th straight month of the collection topping Rs 1.4 lakh crore, the Ministry of Finance said today. Note that February has only 28 days. Previously, the finance ministry had announced that the GST collected in the month of January stood at Rs 1.55 lakh crore, which was the second highest ever.

The finance ministry reported 6 per cent on-year growth in GST revenue from import of goods; and 15% on-year growth in GST revenue from domestic transactions, including import of services, in the month of February. The month also witnessed the highest cess collection of Rs 11,931 crore since the implementation of GST. The month of February normally witnesses a relatively lower revenue collection.

Reacting on the same, Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY, said, “February 2023 being a month of 28 days the collection is much in line with the new normal of GST revenue of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. This is a likely indicator that the Indian economy remains much stable compared to global cues.”

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The government has settled Rs 34,770 crore to CGST and Rs 29,054 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. According to the ministry data, the total revenue of the centre and the states after regular settlements in February 2023 is Rs 62,432 crore for CGST and Rs 63,969 crore for SGST. Additionally, the centre had also released the balance GST compensation of Rs 16,982 crore for June 2022 and Rs 16,524 crore to states and UTs.

In terms of states and UTs, while Delhi registered a growth of 22 per cent in GST revenue collection in February 2023 as compared to the same month last year, Uttar Pradesh registered a growth of 14 per cent, Maharashtra 15 per cent, Bihar 24 per cent, Lakshadweep showed the maximum growth of 275 per cent.

In the Union Budget 2023, the government had projected the indirect tax collection, which mainly comprises Customs and GST at Rs 15.29 trillion for FY24, an increase from Rs 13.85 trillion pegged in Revised Estimates of FY23. Of this, the government has estimated that it will raise Rs 9.56 trillion from GST.