Black money crackdown coming as GST collection fails to hit Rs1 lakh cr mark

The goods and services tax (GST) collections rose marginally to Rs 94,442 crore in September 2018 from Rs 93,960 crore in August, but experts said they may cross Rs 1 lakh crore from November or December. 

The upcoming festive season, drive against bogus bills and evasion and additional sops will help the central government achieve Rs 1 lakh crore mop-up, they said. 

KPMG in India partner & head (indirect tax) Sachin Menon told DNA Money that since GST collection has not picked up as expected, the taxpayers may expect enhanced anti-evasion drive by the government. 

“The buoyancy in GST collection is the key to further concessions in GST regime such as relaxing input credits restrictions and rates. Since the revenue is not picking up, we may have to wait longer for any further concessions in law and compliance process.’’

Of the September’s collection, Central GST (CGST) is Rs 15,318 crore, State GST (SGST) is Rs 21,061 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is Rs 50,070 crore (including Rs 25,308 crore collected on imports) and cess is Rs 7,993 crore (including Rs 769 crore collected on imports), the ministry said.

“The total revenue earned by the central government and the state governments after settlement in September 2018 is Rs 30,574 crore for CGST and Rs 35,015 crore for SGST,” it said.

GST revenue had crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in April this year for the first time, but it is still hovering between Rs 89,000 crore and Rs 96,000 crore. The average GST collection for the last fiscal (from July till March, 2017) was Rs 89,885 crore.  

PwC India partner & head (indirect tax) said the monthly collections are now largely within a small range. The slight increase in collection despite rate cuts on several white goods products from end July is encouraging. 

“Since September 30 is the last date for claiming credit for financial year ended March 2018, the quantum of credit might be much larger than previous months. Hence, the collection in October could get impacted,” he said.

Khaitan & Co partner Abhishek A Rastogi said the GST collections are still 6% short of the desired number. The government will have a dual role -- to improve compliance and collections and to ensure that refunds are granted, especially to units located in area-based exempted zones. “The tax collections may improve due to increased demand in the festive season. Further, anti-profiteering Authority is coming in full flow, and there could be huge demands in certain cases,’’ he said.

However, Rastogi cautioned that in their endeavour to meet the revenue numbers, the authorities should not miss the track of the pending refunds. He said the units in various backward areas have become unviable due to non-grant of Budgetary support. 

BUOYANCY AHEAD 

• GST revenue had crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in April for the first time, but it is still hovering between Rs 89,000 crore and Rs 96,000 crore  
• Of the September’s collection, CGST is Rs 15,318 crore, SGST is Rs 21,061 crore, IGST is Rs 50,070 crore 

Source: DNA Money