NEW DELHI, Dec 4: Since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented on July 1, 2017, annual revenue has been increasing. As of December 4 (Monday), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the average gross monthly mop-up for the current fiscal year is ₹1.66 lakh crore. In response to a written question in the Lok Sabha, she stated that the GST collection reached a record high of ₹1.87 lakh crore in April 2023 and has exceeded the ₹1.5 lakh crore level in each of the current fiscal month.Since the establishment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1st, 2017, there has been an annual pattern of increasing GST collection. According to Ms. Sitharaman, the average gross monthly GST collection in FY 2023–24 is currently ₹1.66 lakh crore, which is 11% greater than it was during the same period in the previous fiscal year. Compared to ₹1.23 lakh crore in 2021–22, the average monthly GST collection in 2022–2023 was over ₹1.5 lakh crore. The average monthly mop-up during 2020–21 was ₹94,734 crore.Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary responded to a different inquiry by stating that the average monthly gross GST collection for 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 had increased by 22% and 30%, respectively, year over year. “GST is paid on a self-assessment basis, and tax administration at the federal and state levels has the authority to pursue cases involving underpayment or nonpayment of GST. Finding these instances and recovering underpaid or unpaid taxes is an ongoing task, according to Mr. Chaudhary.According to him, the government has been implementing various GST changes based on the GST Council’s recommendations, which are expected to enhance GST compliance and boost GST collection. The measures to improve tax compliance include requiring e-way bills, ITC matching, e-invoices, deploying artificial intelligence and machine-based analytics, requiring Aadhaar authentication for registration, calibrating action on non-filers, stopping filers, and so on. Structural changes include adjusting GST rates to correct the inverted duty structure and pruning exemptions.In order to prosecute tax evaders, Central and State tax authorities are also provided with red flag reports generated by the system and system-based analytical tools. In response to a different query, Mr. Chaudhary stated that the State Benches of the GST Appellate Tribunal were established by the Central government on the advice of the GST Council. Mr. Chaudhary provided information on the quantity of appeals that remain pending concerning tax demands made by Central GST officials. As of October 31, 2023, 14,897 appeals remained pending. As of March 31, 2023, there were 11,899 more pending appeals than this.
