Goods and services tax (GST) collections in October crossed the ₹1 trillion mark for the first time this fiscal, joining other indicators of economic activity—from demand for loans to car sales—in signalling that growth is recovering.
The surge in tax collections comes as consumers bought items such as smartphones, automobiles and consumer durables during the festive season.
GST receipts of the central and state governments touched ₹1.05 trillion in October, growing 10.25% from a year ago. This is also the first time this fiscal that GST receipts grew in double digits after a sharp decline in the initial months post the national lockdown imposed in March.
After showing year-on-year contraction in the April to August period, GST receipts rebounded in September, growing 3.8% from a year earlier to ₹95,480 crore.
The total revenue generated by central and state governments after regular settlements stood at ₹44,285 crore and ₹44,839 crore, respectively, in October, the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Until end-October, 8 million monthly summary tax returns were filed. Tax receipts in October refer to September sales.
The rising trend in GST receipts shows the trajectory of economic recovery and, correspondingly, of revenues, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based payments grew 15% by volume to 2.07 billion transactions in October, official data showed on Sunday.
The value of transactions jumped from ₹3.29 trillion in September to ₹3.86 trillion in October, according to data available from National Payments Corporation of India.
UPI payments showed a sequential decline in March and April, when the country went into a lockdown, but subsequently recovered and the levels seen in October is the highest since 2016, when it was rolled out.
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