Govt's yearly gross GST revenue hits record Rs 20.14 lakh cr in March '24

The Government's yearly gross Good and Services Tax (GST) revenue for March 2024 witnessed the second highest collection ever at 20.18 lakh crore, with a 11.7 per cent year-on-year growth as strong consistent performance in FY 2023-24 paved the way for the milestone of total gross GST collection exceeding 20 lakh crore, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. This surge was driven by a significant rise in GST collection from domestic transactions at 17.6 per cent.

- NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE

The GST revenue net of refunds for March 2024 is 1.65 lakh crore which is growth of 18.4 per cent over same period last 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. With continued double-digit growth, the CGST collections have exceeded the FY2024 revised estimate, albeit -- Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA - with a modest shortfall in the GST compensation cess inflows, which are now being used to repay the loans undertaken during the covid period. "With the CGST collections surpassing the FY2024 RE, the implicit growth needed to meet the interim budget estimate for FY2025 has come down to single-digits, which appears likely to be exceeded," says Nayar.