Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in gross terms hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. This represents a 12.4 per cent year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up by 13.4 per cent) and imports (up by 8.3 per cent), Finance Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The government had collected Rs 1.87 lakh crore as GST in the same period last year.

“After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5 per cent growth compared to the same period last year,” the ministry said.

Monthly GST collections have risen over the years. From averaging under Rs 1 lakh crore per month in 2017-18 – its first year –collections rose rapidly after the pandemic-hit 2020-21 to average at Rs 1.51 lakh crore in 2022-23.

Gross collection in the first month of FY25 was also 17.81 per cent higher versus the mop-up in March of Rs 1.78 lakh crore.

“The all-time high GST collection in April 2024 has come on the back of strong growth in collections from northern States like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, et cetera. The GST collection in April has traditionally been higher (the previous highest GST collection was also achieved in April 2023), given that it reflects the economic activity in the month of March, which is the last month of the fiscal year,” said Gunjan Prabhakaran, partner and leader (indirect tax), BDO India.