New Delhi: GST collections rose 12 per cent to over Rs 1.49 lakh crore in February, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. February 2023 witnessed the highest cess collection of Rs 11,931 crore since implementation of GST.
The collections are, however, lower than the second highest Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up recorded in January at over Rs 1.57 lakh crore. The collection reached an all-time high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April 2022. "The gross GST revenue collected in the month of February 2023 is Rs 1,49,577 crore of which CGST is Rs 27,662 crore, SGST is Rs 34,915 crore, IGST is Rs 75,069 crore (including Rs 35,689 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,931 crore (including Rs 792 crore collected on import of goods)," the ministry said in a statement.
The revenues for the month of February 2023 are 12 per cent higher than the GST revenues in February 2022, which was Rs 1.33 lakh crore. Normally February, being a 28-day month, witnesses a relatively lower collection of revenue, the ministry said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said last month the Centre decided to clear the entire pending balance GST compensation of Rs 16,982 crore for June 2022. During a conference after the 49th GST Council meeting in February this year, the Finance Minister said there is no amount in the GST compensation fund and the Centre decided to release this amount from its own resources and it will be recouped from the future compensation cess collection. With this release, the Finance Minister said the Centre would clear the entire provisionally admissible compensation due for five years as envisaged in the GST (Compensation to States) Act 2017.
In addition, the Centre would also clear the admissible final GST compensation to those states which have provided the revenue figures as certified by the audit accountant general of the states amounting to Rs 16,524 crore. The Finance Minister said GST Council has adopted the report of Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST Appellate Tribunal with certain modifications.
With a view to plug the leakages and improve the revenue collection from the commodities like pan masala, gutkha, chewing tobacco, the Council approved the recommendations of the GoM. During the conference, the Finance Minister also mentioned the changes in GST rates of goods and services.
"We are reducing GST rate on the item -- Rab, the kind of liquid jaggery -- between nil to 5 per cent. If it's sold loose, it will be nil and if it's prepackaged and labelled, it will be 5 per cent. The GST rates on pencil sharpeners will come to down to 12 per cent from 18 per cent," she said. (With Agency Inputs)
