New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI): India’s GST collections remained strong in September, but the sharp gap between growth in tax revenue from imports and domestic transactions has emerged as a key point to watch, tax experts said after gross collections crossed Rs 2 lakh crore for the month.
Gross GST collections rose 14.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.04 lakh crore in September. However, while domestic GST revenue grew 10.1 per cent, revenue from imports jumped 25.9 per cent, according to government data released on Thursday.
Pratik Jain, Partner, Price Waterhouse & Co LLP, said the divergence suggested that imports were contributing significantly to the overall growth in collections.
“GST collections remain strong, but it’s interesting to see that domestic revenues grew 10.1% compared with almost 26% growth in import GST. This suggests a meaningful part of the headline buoyancy is coming from imports,” Jain said.
He also pointed to the rise in cumulative refunds, saying it was a positive sign for business liquidity, while adding that sustained growth in domestic revenues would remain important to watch.
The faster growth in import GST was also highlighted by Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner at EY India, who said the overall collections reflected continued strength in demand but the import numbers deserved attention.
“The Rs 2 lakh crore mark in gross GST collections, with growth of close to 15%, shows that domestic demand continues to do well,” Agarwal said.
At the same time, Agarwal said, “One thing worth noting is that GST on imports is growing much faster than domestic collections.”
He said the trend could warrant a reassessment of some production-linked incentive schemes to strengthen domestic manufacturing further.
Vivek Jalan, Partner at Tax Connect Advisory Services LLP, also described September as a strong month for GST collections, pointing to the 18.1 per cent rise in net GST revenue to Rs 1.77 lakh crore.
Jalan, however, flagged the decline in domestic refunds during September.
“Domestic revenues grew by 10.1% to Rs 1,37,996 crore, while import revenues surged by 25.9% to Rs 65,525 crore,” he said, adding that the 13.5 per cent decline in domestic refunds “warrants close monitoring to ensure liquidity for businesses.”
Overall, tax experts said the September numbers point to continued resilience in GST revenues, while the faster pace of import-linked collections and trends in refunds will remain key indicators to watch in the coming months. (ANI)
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