GST revenue up 11.5% at ₹1.78 lakh cr in March; 2nd highest ever

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue for March 2024 witnessed the “second highest collection” ever at ₹1.78 lakh crore, with an 11.5% year-on-year growth, thanks to a surge driven by a significant rise in GST collection from domestic transactions at 17.6%.

The GST revenue net of refunds for March 2024 stood at ₹1.65 lakh crore, which is a growth of 18.4% over the same period last year.

During the month, Ladakh received the highest 82% rise in the GST revenue, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu at 46% and Nagaland at 43%.

The GST revenue collection in February 2024 stood at ₹1,68,337 crore, up 12.5% from ₹1,49,577 crore in the same period last year. The gross GST revenue in January 2024 was ₹1,72,129 crore.

The finance ministry says a “strong consistent performance” was seen in FY 2023-24. The fiscal year marked a milestone with a total gross GST collection of ₹20.14 lakh crore, an 11.7% increase compared to the previous year.

The average monthly collection for this fiscal year stands at ₹1.68 lakh crore, surpassing the previous year’s average of ₹1.5 lakh crore. The GST revenue net of refunds as of March 2024 for the current fiscal year is ₹18.01 lakh crore, a 13.4% growth over the same period last year.

Giving a breakdown, the FinMin says the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) was recorded at ₹34,532 crore in March 2024, while State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) came in at ₹43,746 crore. The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) came in at ₹87,947 crore, including ₹40,322 crore while Cess was recorded at ₹12,259 crore, including ₹996 crore collected on imported goods.

In the whole fiscal year, the FinMin says the CGST was recorded at ₹3,75,710 crore, while SGST at ₹4,71,195 crore. The IGST was recorded at ₹10,26,790 crore, including ₹4,83,086 crore collected on imported goods. The government’s cess collection came in at ₹1,44,554 crore in FY24, including ₹11,915 crore collected on imported goods.

Under the inter-governmental settlement, the Centre settled ₹43,264 crore to CGST and ₹37,704 crore to SGST from the IGST collected in FY24. It translated to a total revenue of ₹77,796 crore for CGST and ₹81,450 crore for SGST for March 2024 after regular settlement.

For the full fiscal year, the Centre settled ₹4,87,039 crore to CGST and ₹4,12,028 crore to SGST from the IGST collected, the statement adds.

The government, in its "White Paper" in February 2024, said the introduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) was a much-needed structural reform to improve revenue collection and compliance. The report claims the GST helped households save nearly ₹45,000 crore per month from December 2017 until March 2023. At the same time, monthly average GST revenue increased from ₹90,000 crore in FY18 to ₹1.7 lakh crore in FY24.