Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for May 2024 grew to Rs 1.73 lakh crore, a 10 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
This growth in collections was primarily due to a rise in domestic transactions, which saw an increase of 15.3 per cent. Conversely, imports experienced a decline of 4.3 per cent during the same period.
April 2024 had witnessed a record high GST mop-up of Rs 2.1 lakh crore, setting a benchmark for subsequent months. However, the decline in collections on a month-on-month basis for May was anticipated due to various factors. Among these were year-end tax payments in May and a potential stagnation in auto sales, which could have contributed to the flat or lower GST collections compared to April's peak.
Following the adjustment for refunds, the net GST revenue for May amounted to Rs 1.44 lakh crore, indicating a respectable 7 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, according to a release by the finance ministry on 1 June.
For the fiscal year 2024-25 up to May 2024, the gross GST collections reached Rs 3.83 lakh crore, reflecting a 11.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth. This growth was primarily propelled by a significant surge in domestic transactions, which rose by 14.2 per cent, and a marginal uptick in imports, up by 1.4 per cent.
Breaking down the GST collections for May 2024, the government accrued Rs 32,409 crore via central GST, Rs 40,265 crore through state GST, and an integrated GST mop-up of Rs 87,781 crore, inclusive of Rs 39,879 crore collected on imported goods. Additionally, GST cess collections for the previous month stood at Rs 12,284 crore, including Rs 1,076 crore collected on imported goods.
In terms of distribution, the Centre disbursed Rs 38,519 crore to central GST and Rs 32,733 crore to state GST from the net integrated GST collection of Rs 67,204 crore. This resulted in a total revenue of Rs 70,928 crore for central GST and Rs 72,999 crore for state GST in May.