May GST haul swells 12% to ₹1.57 trillion

Central and state governments collected ₹1.57 trillion in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in May, 12% more than what they netted from the indirect tax a year ago, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

This is lower than the record GST collection of ₹1.87 trillion reported in April but it’s in line with the trend of robust GST revenue receipts, officials said.

GST revenue in May, representing transactions in the first month of the new financial year, was expected to come down from April’s high—the outcome of year-end sales by companies.

Monthly GST revenues remained above ₹1.4 trillion for 14 months in a row, with the ₹1.5 trillion-mark being crossed for the fifth time since the launch of GST, the ministry said.

After settlement of taxes on account of inter-state sales, the Central government collected ₹63,780 crore while the states collected ₹65,597 crore in May, the statement said.