Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the month of May stood at Rs 1.02 lakh crore, according to the government data released on Saturday. The revenue collections were down from Rs 1.41 lakh crore in April, a record high. However, when compared with the last-year period, the revenues are 65 per cent higher. This would be eighth month in a row that GST collections have crossed Rs 1-lakh-crore mark. “This is despite the fact that most of the States have been under strict lockdown due to the pandemic,” said the Ministry of Finance. 

Of the total collections, CGST was Rs 17,592 crore, SGST was Rs 22,653 and IGST Rs 53,199 crore (including Rs 26,002 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess was Rs 9,265 crore (including Rs 868 crore collected on import of goods). The above figure includes GST collection from domestic transactions till June 4 since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for the return filing month of May 2021 in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19.

During May, revenues from import of goods were 56 per cent higher and revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 69 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. In the GST Council meeting held in May, the Centre had proposed to borrow Rs 1.58 lakh crore to compensate States for GST shortfall through back-to-back loans, like the way it was done last year.