The amount of goods and services tax collected in April increased by 11.6% to a new high of £18.70 billion, driven by strong domestic growth. The latest data issued by the finance ministry on Monday indicated that the mop up in April, based on transactions in March, was at the highest level since the new levy went into effect in July 2017.
The previous high of £16.75 billion was recorded exactly a year ago. Typically, March generates the maximum sales for companies given the year-end rush to meet targets.
“Great news for the Indian economy! Rising tax collection despite lower tax rates shows the success of how GST has increased integration and compliance,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. According to the finance ministry, domestic sales revenues increased by an estimated 16%. This more than offset the integrated GST's 8. 8% increase, which was caused by a decrease in the import tax of 4. 8% due to lower shipment values.
In April, smaller states and Union Territories reported higher growth with Sikkim registering the highest increase of 61%, followed by Mizoram (53%), J&K (44%), Ladakh (43%) and Goa & Manipur (32% each). Some of the larger ones too didn’t fare badly either as MP (28%), Karnataka (23%), Maharashtra & UP (21% each) and Tamil Nadu (19%) grew faster than the national average. Odisha (3%), Gujarat (4%), Rajasthan (5%), Andhra Pradesh (6%) and Delhi (8%) were among the laggards.