The country’s gross Good and Services Tax (GST) revenue for March 2024 jumped by 11.5% over the same month of the previous year, to touch the second-highest collection ever at ₹1.78 lakh crore, showed the data released by the finance ministry today.

This surge was driven by a significant rise in GST collection from domestic transactions at 17.6%, reflecting the increased level of economic activity during the month. GST revenue net of refunds is ₹1.65 lakh crore in March which represents a growth of 18.4% over the same month last year.

For the fully financial year 2023-24 the total gross GST collection touched the significant milestone of ₹20.14 lakh crore, an 11.7% increase compared to the previous year, according to the official figures.

The average monthly collection for this fiscal year ended on Mar 31, 2024 now stands ₹1.68 lakh crore, surpassing the previous year’s average of ₹1.5 lakh crore. GST revenue net of refunds as of March 2024 for 2023-24 is ₹18.01 lakh crore which is a growth of 13.4% over the same period last year, the finance ministry said.

Breakdown of March 2024 collections shows a positive trend:

• Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST): ₹34,532 crore
• State Goods and Services Tax (SGST): ₹43,746 crore
• Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST): ₹87,947 crore, including ₹40,322 crore collected on imported goods
• Cess: ₹12,259 crore, including ₹996 crore collected on imported goods

Similar positive trends are observed in the entire FY 2023-24 collections:

• Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST): ₹3,75,710 crore
• State Goods and Services Tax (SGST): ₹4,71,195 crore
• Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST): ₹10,26,790 crore, including ₹4,83,086 crore collected on imported goods
• Cess: ₹1,44,554 crore, including ₹11,915 crore collected on imported goods

During March, the Central Government settled ₹43,264 crore to CGST and ₹37,704 crore to SGST from the IGST collected.

For FY 2023-24, the central government settled ₹4,87,039 crore to CGST and ₹4,12,028 crore to SGST from the IGST collected.

(Source: IANS)

-Edited for style