Collections from the goods and services tax (GST) fell sequentially in November by 3.96 per cent to Rs 1.46 lakh crore. The collections for the month were the lowest since August despite the festive season.

Collections were up 11 per cent from a year ago because of increased consumer spending and better compliance.

The gross GST revenue collected in November was Rs 1,45,867 crore: central GST, Rs 25,681 crore, state GST, Rs 32,651 crore, integrated GST Rs 77,103 crore (including Rs 38,635 crore collected on the import of goods) and cess Rs 10,433 crore (including Rs 817 crore collected on import of goods).

M.S. Mani, par tner, Deloitte India, said: “The GST collection targets set for the year are likely to be exceeded. Business would expect that the continuing buoyancy in collections leads to GST rate rationalisation in the next financial year.”

KPMG partner indirect-tax Abhishek Jain said continuing festive procurements, yearend reconciliations of input tax credits and credit notes would have played a significant role in the GST revenue uptick.

Vivek Jalan, partner, Tax Connect Advisory, a multi-disciplinary consultancy firm said: “The budgeted GST revenue for 2022-23 is Rs 14.4 lakh crore. Till November, Rs 11.91 lakh crore has already been done... The fiscal year would end with an uptick of Rs 2.5 lakh crore approximately, which is a 17 per cent growth over budget.”

“The sequential dip in collections in November reflects the boost from quarter-end payments in the latter month, as the inflows in each month pertain to the activity in the previous month,” Aditi Nayar, chief economist, Icra said.