Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 7.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.74 lakh crore in June (for sales in May), sources said on Monday. This is the slowest rate of growth in GST collections in three years, with the previous slower pace of growth recorded in June 2021. With this release on Monday, which was also the seventh anniversary of the rollout of the indirect tax regime, the government stopped the official release of monthly gross GST collections that were usually announced on the first day of every month. Sources said the government will not be releasing any statement with regard to GST collections going ahead. The usual release on GST collections used to include state-wise breakup of the revenue collected in each state, which would act as an indicator of the economic and consumption activities. It also used to include details such as breakup of Central GST (CGST), state GST (GST) and compensation cess collected from imports and domestic sales during the month. Sources said the gross GST collection stood at Rs 5.57 lakh crore so far in this financial year (April-June). The government had collected Rs 1.73 lakh crore as gross GST in May 2024 and Rs 1.61 lakh crore in June 2023. The Integrated GST (IGST) worth Rs 39,586 crore was settled towards CGST and Rs 33,548 crore towards SGST, sources said. The GST mop-up had touched a record high of Rs 2.1 lakh crore in April. In a separate series of posts on social media platform X, the Finance Ministry on the occasion of seven years of GST said the indirect tax regime has reduced taxes on household goods, and brought “happiness and relief to every home”. “With reduced tax rates on household goods after GST implementation, #7yearsofGST has brought happiness and relief to every home through lower GST on household appliances and mobile phones,” the Ministry said in a post on X. The GST taxpayer base has increased to 1.46 crore in April 2024 from 1.05 crore as of April 2018, it said. Giving comparative charts of pre- and post-GST tax rates of household goods, the Ministry said GST has enhanced the ease of living with every household saving on expenditure on food items and items of mass consumption after GST implementation.
