Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections came in at Rs 1,13,143 crore in February, 7 per cent higher than in the year-ago month, indicating that a recent surge in transactions in the economy was sustained through January. 

From a monthly low of just over Rs 32,000 crore in April 2020, the collections had gradually picked up. Since September 2020, the mop-up has been higher than the year-ago levels and for the last five months, the revenues have been above the Rs 1,00,000-crore mark. 

The collections had touched the peak of Rs 1,19,875 crore in January 2021 (reflecting December 2020 transactions). Apart from the economic recovery, a stepped-up drive against large-scale tax evasion and a crackdown on fake-invoice rackets with the aid of data analytics also contributed to the acceleration. 

“During the month (February), revenues from import of goods were 15 per cent higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 5 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year,” the government has said in a statement.

Meanwhile, various economic indicators showed somewhat sustained tempo in January and February this year. Manufacturing PMI hit a three-month high of 57.7 in January. It eased a tad in February to 57.5 but was still way above the long-term average of 53.6.