India reported a monthly Goods and Service Tax collection of $14.21 billion in the month of October.
This is the best performance in terms of tax collection in the current financial year (April 2020 – March 2021) and a turnaround from the pandemic low of $4.2 billion in revenue collection, when the entire country was under a stringent national lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.
A release from the Indian Ministry of Finance said on Sunday that "the revenues for the month are ten percent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, revenue from the import of goods was 9% higher and the revenues from domestic transactions (including imports of services) are 11% higher that the revenues from these sources during the same month last year".
"The growth in GST revenue as compared to that in the months of July, August, and September 2020 of (-)14 percent, (-)8 percent, and 5 percent, respectively clearly shows the trajectory of recovery of the economy and, correspondingly, of revenues", said the release.
GST is the system of indirect tax in the country. GST collection in the month of April was $4.2 billion, the lowest ever figure reported as the economy was under a complete lockdown. The national lockdown lasted from 25 March through the month of May. Beginning in June, the government started providing a graded relaxation from the lockdown restrictions.
The pandemic and the ensuing lockdown, however, took a massive toll on the Indian economy. India's economic growth contracted by 23.9 percent in the April – June period of the current financial year.
