The government can heave a sigh of relief as the Goods and Services Tax collection for January have come in slightly stronger than what many expected.
The final number for January is Rs 88,929 cr, an increase of 6.3% over Rs 82,716 cr recorded in the previous month.
The declines were a matter of concern as GST revenue has tended to drop with every passing month. Except for the festival month of October, it has dropped in all others.
It was Rs 93,950 cr in August, and fell to Rs 93,029 cr in September. It again fell to Rs 85,931 cr in November and to Rs 83,716 cr in December.
GST is designed as a single tax that subsumes all indirect taxes of the state and central governments except custom levies. The total inflow is then shared by the central and state governments.
Under the current policy, the government has given a guarantee of income to states, including a promise of 14% growth every year.
The government also said that under the numbers registered so far, there is a “minor shortfall” in central government’s revenue since the GST was implemented.
It said it is taking action to check evasion, and is also making compliance easier on the taxpayers.