As widely expected, Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for February fell to Rs 85,174 crore, down from Rs 86,318 crore collected in January and Rs 88,929 crore in December. The collection is a bit on the lower side, thanks to the rationalisation of GST rates for various categories of goods and services in January 2018. March figure is expected to be higher on account of year-end accruals and sales push.
The budgeted GST collection in 2018-19 is much higher than the current trend of revenue collection. The government is however likely to achieve Rs 10 lakh crore in 2017-18. With the introduction of the e-way bill from April 1, the compliance and collections are likely to grow going forward.
Analysts believe that the collections are bound to improve in the first quarter of next financial year with the GSTN systems being stabilised to a large extent and compliance level increasing. The anti-evasion measures taken by the government currently are also likely to beef up tax collection. The total numbers of returns filed for February are still around 69% of total dealers required to file monthly returns. While there is a marginal improvement in returns filed month on month, the low level of compliance will continue to bother the government.
