The amount of GST collected in January increased by 10.6% to £15.59 billion, making it the second-highest monthly collection after December's record-breaking 83 million e-way bills.
The finance ministry's most recent data revealed that, despite signs of a slowdown in GST due to a muted rise from imports, central GST revenues experienced the largest growth, rising 17.4% to £2.89 billion in January (based on transactions in December, 2022). Imports decreased 3. 5% in December, according to data that the department of commerce issued earlier this month.
This is the third occasion that the mop-up has exceeded £15 billion in the current fiscal year. GST receipts have surged by 24% to approximately £15 billion so far this fiscal year. The rise was ascribed by the government to initiatives made in recent years to broaden the tax base and boost compliance.
“GST collections for the month of January have touched the second all-time high, setting the perfect momentum for the Union Budget. Equally encouraging is that December saw the highest number of e-way bills getting generated, which clearly indicates an uptick in economic activity. With the Economic Survey indicating that the taxpayer numbers have almost doubled from the initial 2017 numbers, it seems that such high GST collections can be expected to be normal for the coming months,” said Abhishek Jain, partner for indirect tax at consulting firm KPMG in India.