GST Collections falls to 85,174 owing to lesser no.of returns

Total revenue collection under the goods and services tax (GST) slid for the second straight month to Rs85,174 crore in February (till 26 March) as only 69 per cent of the assessees filed returns.

"The total revenue received under GST for the month of February 2018 (received up to March 26) has been Rs 85,174 crore," the finance ministry stated in a release.

Total GST collection in January was Rs86,318 crore, while in December and November it was Rs88,929 crore and Rs83,716 crore, respectively.

Of the 10.5 million taxpayers registered under GST, only 59.51 lakh have filed GSTR 3B returns for the month of February 2018 so far, till 25 March 2018. This is 69 per cent of the total taxpayers who are required to file the monthly returns, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The last date for filing of GSTR 3B return for February 2018 was 20 March 2018.

Of the 10.5 million registered taxpayers, 1.82 million are composition dealers which are required to file returns every quarter and the rest of 8.64 million are required to file monthly returns.

Of the Rs85,174 crore GST collected for February, Rs14,945 crore has been received as Central GST and Rs20,456 crore as State GST.

Besides, Rs42,456 crore has been collected as Integrated GST and Rs7,317 crore as compensation cess.

A total amount of Rs25,564 crore is being transferred from IGST to CGST/SGST account by way of settlement.

"Thus, the total collection of CGST and SGST up to 26th March (for February) is Rs 27,085 crore and Rs 33,880 crore respectively, including transfers by way of settlement," the statement added.

GST collections in July 2017 stood at Rs93,590 crore, Rs93,029 crore in August, Rs95,132 crore in September and Rs85,931 crore in October, according to a finance ministry statement in the Lok Sabha.