The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections dipped to a three-month low of about Rs 1.64 lakh crore in December.

The collections stood at Rs 1.67 lakh crore in November and Rs 1.72 lakh crore in October, while in September the authorities mopped up Rs 1.62 lakh crore.

There has been a spate of notices recently to companies to collect unpaid GST over earlier periods.

LIC on Monday said tax authorities have slapped a demand notice of about Rs 806 crore on it for alleged short payment of GST for 2017-18.

The insurer has received a communication/demand order on Monday for collection of GST along with interest and penalty for Maharashtra state, LIC said in a regulatory filing.

Leading FMCG maker Hindustan Unilever Ltd also said on Monday it has received Goods and Services Tax demands and penalties totalling Rs 447.5 crore from the authorities.

In a regulatory filing, HUL — which owns brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Pond's and Dove — said these "orders are currently appealable" and it will make an assessment.

Last week, online food delivery firm Zomato Ltd was served a Rs 401.7-crore GST liability show cause notice over delivery charges.

Though collections rose 12 per cent this fiscal till December, analysts warned the true measure of efficiency is whether the collections have exceeded GDP growth — or the extent of tax buoyancy.

“Considering an inflation of 5.5 per cent and GDP growth of 6.5 per cent, a growth in GST revenues by 12 per cent just around matches the real economic growth. It means that there is nil tax buoyancy as of now,”, according to Vivek Jalan, partner, Tax Connect Advisory.

“With multiple years assessments and show cause notices getting time-barred in the current fiscal year, possibly the ministries at the Centre and States would be expecting that some buoyancy be generated by the tax administration.”

According to the finance ministry, the Centre received Rs 30,443 crore from GST in December, while the states received Rs 37,995 crore.

Integrated GST — or the tax collected on inter-state purchases of GST — stood at Rs 84,255 crore, including Rs 41,534 crore from imports.

Total cess collections were Rs 12,249 crore, including Rs 1,079 crore collected on the import of goods.

The finance ministry said that the collection saw a jump of 10 per cent compared with Rs 1.49 lakh crore in the same month a year ago.

Average monthly collections till December stood at Rs 1.66 lakh crore, an increase of 12 per cent from Rs 1.49 lakh crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

M.S. Mani, partner, Deloitte India said: “The collections for December, in addition to establishing a new normal of Rs 1.6-lakh- crore-plus, demonstrate robust collections during the current fiscal are not driven by festive or seasonal reasons. It shows the strong underlying economic growth noticed across sectors.

“While major states have continued their growth, deeper analysis is required for the lack of growth in GST collections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,” he said.

He said the interim budget is expected to set higher targets for 2024-25 and set the tone for the next generation of GST reforms