GST collection soars to Rs 532 Cr in J&K, up 23% from Feb 2023

Srinagar, Mar 1: In a major boost to its economy, Jammu and Kashmir recorded a Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection of Rs 532 crore in February, which is 23 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

According to official data, J&K generated Rs 434 crore GST in February 2023.

The collection in February this year marks a significant jump of Rs 98 crore.

Experts say that the impressive GST figures point towards recovery in business activities and consumer spending in J&K.

Officials in the Finance Department have attributed the record GST collections to increased compliance. They said a thrust on effective monitoring and crackdown on GST evaders had also led to better compliance.

“We expect the GST revenue to further go up in March and April. The administration will continue to work towards creating a business-friendly environment and reducing compliance burdens,” a senior official said.

Registration of dealers under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has witnessed remarkable growth in Jammu and Kashmir over the last 5 years.

As per official data, the number of GST-registered dealers in J&K has expanded from about 72,000 in 2018 to 1,97,000 in 2023.

This indicates a massive expansion of over 170 percent in the GST dealer base in J&K during this period.

The significant rise in dealer registration points to increased participation of businesses from J&K in the nationwide indirect tax system.

With more enterprises and traders from J&K coming under the GST ambit, tax compliance is expected to improve within J&K.

Analysts say that the addition of over 1.25 lakh GST-registered dealers reflects positively on industry sentiment and perception of GST among businesses in J&K.

The widening GST dealer base is a healthy sign for J&K and would boost GST revenues for the J&K administration, a senior State Taxes Department official said.

As per the official document, the revenue collection under the GST touched Rs 6018 crore in 2023-24 (up to December 2023) exemplifying 10.60 percent growth over such revenues in the same period of 2022-23.

The revenue from motor spirit taxes reached Rs 1240 crore in 2023-24 (till December 2023) against the receipt of Rs 1185 crore over the same period of 2022-23.

The GST revenue collections for February rose by a robust 12.5 per cent year-on-year in February to Rs 1,68,337 crore, according to figures released by the Finance Ministry on Friday.

The growth was driven by a 13.9 percent rise in GST from domestic transactions and an 8.5 percent increase in GST from the import of goods.

The GST revenue net of refunds for February 2024 is Rs 1.51 lakh crore which is a growth of 13.6 percent over that for the same month last year.

As of February 2024, the total gross GST collection for the current fiscal year stands at Rs 18.40 lakh crore, which is 11.7 percent higher than the collection for the same period in FY 2022-23.

The average monthly gross collection for FY 2023-24 works out at Rs 1.67 lakh crore, exceeding the corresponding figure of Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the previous year.

The GST revenue net of refunds as of February 2024 for the current fiscal year is Rs 16.36 lakh crore which is a growth of 13 percent over that for the same period last year.