INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 12.4% to Rs 1,49,577 crore in February despite a slowdown in the mop-up from
imported goods.February (collections for transactions in January) marked the 12th straight month of the kitty being above Rs 1.4 lakh crore,
according to finance ministry data
also showed that cess collections last month were at a record level of Rs 11,931 crore
This is only the second time since GST kicked in from July 2017 that the cess on luxury and sin goods such as cars, tobacco, soft drinks,
yachts and aircraft and coal has crossed Rs 11,000 crore.The collections in February were driven by domestic collections, which rose 15%,
while the mop-up from imports was 6% higher, reflecting the slowdown in imports
In December and January, imports contracted by 3.5%, which chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran attributed to the softening of oil
prices.Disaggregated data for February showed that both state and central GST collections rose by 13% each, while integrated GST
collections, including on imports, were 11% higher.IGST on imports are estimated to have increased by 5.5% to Rs 35,689 crore
to have been dampened by the sequential and year-on-year contraction in merchandise imports in January 2023
We expect the FY2023 revised estimates for CGST collections to be met
ratings agency ICRA.Among the states, Meghalaya was the lone one which saw a fall in collections with Himachal, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat, Telangana, Odisha and Assam reporting growth rates which were below the national average.At the other end of the spectrum was
Mizoram with a 138% jump in collections.
