JULY 10, 2024

By Vijay Kumar

WHAT was the GST collection for June 2024?

The Hindu reported it to be about Rs.1.74 lakh crore, according to numbers shared informally by officials.

Business Today reported, For June, GST collections stand at Rs 1.74 lakh crore. This data was not shared in a formal press release but provided to reporters informally.

Business Standard reported, The gross goods and services tax (GST) collection for June 2024 stood at Rs 1.74 trillion, marking 7.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth, an official source disclosed to Business Standard.

CNBC reported, According to government officials, GST collections stood at Rs.1.74 lakh crore in June 2024.

The Print reported: One of the officials said the collections for June 2024 stood at Rs 1.74 lakh crore, which is 7.7 percent higher than was collected in June last year. Neither official from the ministry wished to be named as they are not allowed to officially speak to the media in the pre-budget period.

What can be understood from the above reports and many other news stories?

1. The tax collection is reported to be Rs 1.74 lakh crore and the same figure was reported by all those who cared to report the unconfirmed figures from an undisclosed source in the government. Is it some state secret?

2. There is no official communication on the actual GST collection for June 2024.

The PIB used to issue a Press Release on the first of every month giving details of GST collection in the previous month. On 1st June 2024, the PIB release stated:

Gross GST revenue collection in May 2024 stands at Rs.1.73 lakh crore: Records 10% y-o-y growth

Rs.3.83 lakh crore gross GST revenue collection in FY 2024-25 (till May 2024) records 11.3% y-o-y growth

Net Revenue (after refunds) grows 11.6% in FY 2024-25 (till May 2024)

Domestic Gross GST Revenue grows 15.3% in May 2024

Posted On: 01 JUN 2024 7:03 PM by PIB Delhi

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue for the month of May 2024 stood at Rs.1.73 lakh crore. This represents a 10% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 15.3%) and slowing of imports (down 4.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for May 2024 stands at Rs.1.44 lakh crore, reflecting a growth of 6.9% compared to the same period last year.

But on July 1st, while everyone, (not really everyone, only the concerned people) was celebrating the seven years of GST, the government shied away from disclosing the tax collection figures and it is not as if the collections were shamefully low - they were actually high - to a point of alleged embarrassment. But then why did the government not reveal them publicly and proudly through its PIB? It's like a mystery novel where the clues are hidden in financial reports!

The Indian Express commented:

Good economic data is rarely considered bad news. But it appears so in the case of indirect tax collections.

Monthly revenue haul under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is touching record highs and such a razzle-dazzle has no equal in history. But like beauty that cannot escape malice and envy, GST's prosperity seems to be gathering a hostile glance from taxpayers, businesses and critics alike.

Perhaps to avert the negative gaze, authorities seem to have decided to give the indirect tax regime an anti-evil eye charm by withholding monthly data dispatches. This may or may not be endowed with special protective powers, but the absence of the monthly collections will likely contain breeding resentment that the government is overtaxing consumers.

The Hindu cautiously commented:

Growth in India's gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections slowed to a three-year low in June, with revenues rising about 7.74% to about Rs.1.74 lakh crore from Rs.1,61,497 crore collected in the year-earlier period, according to numbers shared informally by officials.

The Finance Ministry, which generally releases monthly GST revenue collections on the first of every subsequent month, including details about trends on State-wise collections and revenues collected from domestic transactions and imports, had not officially issued any statement on June's indirect tax receipts till the time of going to press on Monday.

Economists, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed surprise at the absence of an official statement on the GST revenues for last month, and reckoned this would hamper analysis on activity trends in the economy.

Money Control stated:

The finance ministry may discontinue the practice of releasing a statement outlining GST collections data on the first day of every month, a source in the know of the matter said, adding that later on the earlier format of the statement, which was detailed, is likely to be replaced with a more succinct version.

GST collection data for July 2024 is Rs 1.74 lakh crore, as per sources on July 1. However, an official statement outlining the mop-up has not been released yet.

Addressing the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, last week, the former Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian is reported to have stated:

1. In February, the government started releasing net GST collection numbers and has now stopped publishing it again. Because we are not getting refunds data, we are under the impression that revenues are doing very well.

2. The focus was on collections, because refunds were not published and we were looking at the wrong number - had the refunds data been published, we would have been much more careful about rate cuts.

3. Revenues from the seven-year-old Goods and Services Tax (GST) had not lived up to expectations, having attained pre-GST levels only now, and the objective of a 'Good and Simple Tax' remains elusive.

4. You should just have one cess rate, one standard rate and one low rate.

5. The tweaks and changes effected in the GST regime every time the GST Council meets - this practice was taking the system in a backward direction in terms of simplicity and rationalisation.

6. Electricity, petroleum and alcohol in the GST net - that would be a bad idea... especially in the current context of the acrimonious relations between the Centre and the States, I don't think it's politically advisable to expect or ask the States to give up more sovereignty. They have compromised but other conditions have changed too much for the compromise to be relevant again.

But is the government obliged to give us the figures of collection every month, the correct figures? What if they choose to reveal them partly and at convenient intervals? Anyway, Arvind Subramanian says, we were looking at the wrong number.

According to a Finance Ministry tweet, GST brought happiness for every home:

As long as your entertainment was limited to a 32 inches tv, you could laugh your way to the bank with a less GST burden; you would have paid less GST for keeping your food and water cool, your clothes clean, your homes cool, your bathwater hot, your food cooked, your clothes sewed and chat your heart on that mobile phone while sipping tea from a cheaper flask and keeping your phone charged with a UPS.

This year, the celebration of the seventh anniversary of GST was a low-key affair. The CBIC Chairman in his newsletter stated:

Every year Commendation Certificates are conferred to the CBIC officers on the GST Day. Today, Certificates were distributed in a virtual ceremony to 28 deserving officers in recognition of their significant contribution in diverse areas such as trade facilitation, automation, enforcement, audit, infrastructure development, policymaking, etc.

On the 'GST Day', the Chairman observed,

Seven years ago, on this very day, GST was rolled out ushering in a simplified indirect tax regime across India. During this momentous journey, we have witnessed impressive milestones and initiated several trade-friendly measures -an outcome of effective coordination between the Centre and State Governments, extensive consultations with industry stakeholders, and a shared vision of a more efficient tax regime. As we celebrate the seventh anniversary today, let us acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of every stakeholder who has contributed to making GST a success story - from the taxpayers who have embraced GST with open arms to the policymakers who have steered its course, from the tax professionals who have helped in the smooth implementation to the tax administrators who have diligently set the laws and regulations in motion.

Celebrate GST

Until next week