• Notification Date: 06-03-2024
• Notification No: N/A

February GST Collection rose by 12.5 Percent; Suggesting Strong Economic Growth

Experts said that Gross Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collected for February 2024 at Rs 1.68 lakh crore, posting a 12.5 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2023, shows the robustness of the Indian economy and a strong consumption story. Abhishek Jain, Partner and National Head, Indirect Tax – KPMG in India, said, “A strong 12.5 per cent growth in overall GST collections and specially 13.9 per cent growth in GST collections from domestic transactions have added to the cheer of 8.4 per cent growth in GDP in Q3. This collectively shows the robustness of the Indian economy and domestic consumption story going strong.”

Per the data released by the Ministry of Finance, the 12.5 per cent growth in GST revenue collection was driven by a 13.9 per cent rise in GST from domestic transactions and 8.5 per cent increase in GST from import of goods. GST revenue net of refunds for February 2024 is Rs 1.51 lakh crore which is a growth of 13.6 per cent over that for the same period last year.

As of February 2024, the total gross GST collection for the current fiscal year stands at Rs 18.40 lakh crore, which is 11.7 per cent higher than the collection for the same period in FY 2022-23, the release by the ministry stated. The average monthly gross collection for FY 2023-24 is Rs 1.67 lakh crore, exceeding the Rs 1.5 lakh crore collected in the previous year’s corresponding period. The ministry further added that GST revenue net of refunds as of February 2024 for the current fiscal year is Rs 16.36 lakh crore, up 13.0 per cent from that for the same period last year. 

Gunjan Prabhakaran, Partner & Leader, Indirect Tax, BDO India, said, “The GST collection numbers continue to show a significant growth on a year-on-year basis, with GST collections in February, 2024 at Rs 1.68 lakh crore, showing a y-o-y growth of 12.5 per cent (despite a minor decrease of ~ 2.2 per cent on a month on month basis). This increase in GST collections seems to be on the basis of growth in economic activity, especially with the GST collections from major states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat showing growth rates close to ~15 to 20 per cent on a y-o-y basis.”

Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY, added, “A recent rise in GST collections from smaller Indian states and union territories, including Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Dadra Nagar Haveli, and Ladakh, suggests that economic growth is becoming more widespread and inclusive across the country.”