The gross GST revenue collected in the month of January 2021 till 6PM on Sunday (January 31) is Rs 1,19,847 crore, the Union Finance Ministry said in a statement.
"It consists of CGST is Rs 21,923 crore, SGST is Rs 29,014 crore, IGST is Rs 60,288 crore (including Rs 27,424 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 8,622 crore (including ₹ 883 crore collected on import of goods)," read the statement. "The total number of GSTR-3B Returns filed for the month of December up to 31st January 2021 is 90 lakhs," it added.
"The government has settled Rs 24,531 crore to CGST and Rs 19,371 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of January 2021 is Rs 46,454 crore for CGST and Rs 48,385 crore for the SGST," it further added.
Meanwhile, the revenues for month of January 2021 are 8% higher than GST revenues in same month last year, which was more than Rs 1.1 lakh crore.
The GST revenues during January 2021 are the highest since introduction of GST and has almost touched the Rs 1.2 lakh crore mark, exceeding the last month’s record collection of Rs 1.15 lakh crore, the Ministry said.
"GST revenues above Rs 1 lakh crore for a stretch of last four months and a steep increasing trend over this period are clear indicators of rapid economic recovery post pandemic. Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, Income-tax and Customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue over last few months," it added.
This comes a day before Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver her promised Budget "like never before" on Monday. It is expected to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man as well as focus more on driving the economic recovery through higher spending on healthcare, infrastructure and defence amid rising tensions with neighbours.
As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
Sitharaman, who had in her first budget in 2019 replaced leather briefcase that had been for decades used for carrying budget documents with a traditional red cloth 'bahi-khata', had earlier this month stated that the budget for the fiscal year beginning April will be "like never before".
The budget, economists and experts say, will be the starting point for picking up the pieces after the economic destruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(With PTI inputs)
