With the economic activities picking up, Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections in Karnataka rose by 51% in the first eight months of the current financial year (April to November) when compared with the same period during the previous year (2020–21).
The State’s GST collection recorded at ₹54,517.94 crore for April–November period of this financial year as against ₹35,991.61 crore during the same period in 2020–21, registering a growth of 51%.
The Union Finance Ministry noted that the recent trend of high GST revenues has been a result of implementation of many policy and administrative reforms in the past to improve compliance.
Experts in the field said that revival of economic activity along with multiple compliance measures, blocking of e-way bills and pausing (stopping) of input tax credit for non-filers taken by tax authorities for curbing evasion contributed to higher collection of GST in Karnataka and other States.
In Karnataka, GST revenue stood at ₹33,793.74 crore and ₹40,295.29 crore in the first eight months of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years, respectively.
Sources in the State Government said GST revenue in the current financial year crossed five figures in two months — ₹12,338.21 crore in July and ₹13,915.86 crore in October. GST collection slipped below ₹5,000 crore only in the months of May, June and August, largely owing to COVID-19-induced economic restrictions in the State. With four more months to go in the current financial year, the State is expected to record the highest collection of GST in 2021–22, since the launch of the new tax regime in July 2017 by the NDA Government.
In the current year, the State’s commercial taxes are expected to cross the figure of ₹82461.71 crore of 2020–21. Commercial tax collection in the first eight months stood at ₹68,618.27 crore.
Commercial taxes also include Karnataka sales tax on petrol and diesel and other commodities and professional tax. While collection of sales tax recorded at ₹13,386.69 crore in the first eight months of 2021–22, revenue from professional tax stood at ₹713.64 crore.
