GST collections at Rs 1.75 lakh crore dip in August, but up 10% from last year

India’s goods and services tax (GST) collections were a tad lower at Rs 1.75 lakh crore in August compared with Rs 1.82 lakh crore in the previous month, according to data released on September 1.

The pace of growth of GST remained around 10 percent in August, as the country had recorded Rs 1.59 lakh crore in GST revenue in August 2023.

For the first five months of the year, collections were up 10.1 percent at Rs 9.14 lakh crore.

While domestic revenue was up 9.2 percent to Rs 1.25 lakh crore, import revenue grew faster at 12.1 percent during the month Rs 49,976 crore compared to the previous year’s figures.

Net domestic revenues, adjusting for refunds, were just 4.9 percent higher at Rs 1.11 lakh crore, while IGST revenues were 11.2 percent higher.

Net domestic revenues were 14.4 percent higher in the previous month at Rs 1.66 lakh crore.

The net GST revenue was at Rs 1.5 lakh crore, 6.5 percent higher than the previous year. The total refund amount was Rs 24,460 crore, of which 58 percent were domestic refunds, while the erst were exporter refunds.

Net GST revenue till August was Rs 8.07 lakh crore, 10.2 percent higher than the previous year.

The GST council is likely to meet on September 9, where a decision on GST on life insurance is likely to be taken, according to a Moneycontrol analysis. The government is looking to exempt term life insurance, which at present attracts 18 percent GST, while maintaining a status quo on investment-linked insurance plans.