July GST mop-up at 1.96 trillion but refunds slow growth

The Centre and state governments collected ₹1.96 trillion in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July, a 7.5% increase from the same period last year, official data showed on Friday.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

However, a sharp rise in tax refunds moderated the growth in net revenue.

After adjusting for refunds, the net GST revenue stood at ₹1.69 trillion, just 1.7% higher than the year-ago period.

Businesses received ₹27,000 crore in tax refunds in July, marking a 67% increase from the same month last year.

Despite the surge in refunds, cumulative GST revenue for the current fiscal year has grown 8.4% to 7.1 trillion after refunds.

Gross central and state GST receipts, prior to refunds, rose more than 9% in July. Tax collections on inter-state sales and imports increased by 5%.