GST collections in January may touch record high of Rs 1.15 lakh crore: Report

Goods and Service Tax (GST) collections may touch a record high of Rs 1.15 lakh crore in January, Hindustan Times reported.

“The GST collection in January is as per the revised target of Rs 1.15 lakh crore. It is achievable as we have been able to plug revenue leakages worth about Rs 40,000 crore by using technology and data analytics,” an official told the paper.

The highest monthly GST collection so far, since its introduction in July 2017, was Rs 1.13 lakh crore in April 2019. Collections crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in November and December 2019.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

The Department of Revenue has raised the GST collection target to Rs 1.15 lakh crore for January and February from the previous target of Rs 1 lakh crore, the report said. The target for March has been set at Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

The direct tax collection is expected to be 'proportionately better' than FY19, the article quotes another official as saying.

The shortfall in gross direct tax collection for April-January of FY20 is pegged at Rs 11,000 crore, the report said, adding that for the first 10 months of FY20, gross direct tax collection is estimated at Rs 9.01 lakh crore as compared to Rs 9.12 lakh crore the previous year.

The Centre has budgeted a 25 percent growth in net tax revenue at Rs 16.5 lakh crore for FY20.