Helped by improved compliance, GST collections increased 10 per cent to over Rs 1.62 lakh crore in September, crossing the Rs 1.6-lakh-crore mark for the fourth time during the current financial year.

Central GST collections for the month stood at Rs 29,818 crore, state GST was Rs 37,657 crore, integrated GST was Rs 83,623 crore, including Rs 41,145 crore collected on the import of goods, and cess, Rs 11,613 crore.

The revenue in September 2023 is 2.3 per cent higher than what was collected in the previous month. This is the seventh month in a row that the monthly GST collection has come in above the Rs 1.5-lakh-crore mark.

The September collections were 10 per cent higher than the GST revenue of Rs 1.47 lakh crore in the same month last year.

Gross GST collection in the first half (April-September) of FY24 stood at Rs 9.92 lakh crore, an increase of 11 per cent from the year-ago period.

Average monthly gross collection in April-September FY24 was Rs 1.65 lakh crore, 11 per cent higher than the year-ago period, it said.

The government settled Rs 33,736 crore to Central GST and Rs 27,578 crore to State GST from Integrated GST. As a result, the total revenue for the month post-settlement was Rs 63,555 crore for the Centre and Rs 65,235 crore for the states.

Abhishek Jain, indirect tax head and partner, KPMG said: “With a normal period of limitation for 2017-18 ending on 30th September, some of this increased collection could be linked to businesses having settled issues with payment of taxes for the said period. While Rs 1.6 lakh crore plus seems to be the new normal, this could see a further uptick with the festive season around the corner.”

M.S. Mani, senior partner, Deloitte said: “It is noticeable that large production and
consumption states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and AP have shown an increase ranging from 17 per cent to 21 per cent compared with the average of 10 average.

“While the revenues from GST are 10 per cent higher on an overall basis, the increase of 14 per cent on domestic transactions ties in well with several other macro-economic indicators which reflect the growth in domestic production and consumption.”

EY Tax Partner Saurabh Agarwal said increased GST collection indicates the economy continues to be on a stable growth trajectory and rising collections from domestic transactions are an indicator that policies of the government have started showcasing their impact.

Consistent rise in collections in J & K, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh indicate an increased consumption in these areas, Agarwal said.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry has notified October 1 as the date for implementation of the amended GST law provisions for taxing e-gaming, casinos and horse racing.