Post lockdown GST revenue sees growth, but Maharashtra and UP show zero growth

The impact of the lockdown due to Covid-19 on the economy is visible from the GST revenue collection data. Revenue growth has picked up since unlock measures began from May onwards

@prashanthamine

Mumbai: The impact of the lockdown on the economy can be gauged from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection comparative data for the month of September that was released ahead of the GST Council meeting on Monday. Interestingly enough while the overall GST revenue collection has seen a positive growth for September, two of the biggest state’s – Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have shown zero percent growth.

The GST revenue collections for September 2020 indicates that the economic activity has picked-up when one compares the data with September 2019 data. The GST revenue collection which was Rs 91,916 crore in September 2019, has risen to Rs 95,480 crore, a rise of Rs 3,564 crore.

But interestingly enough, the comparative state-wise GST revenue collection data for September 2019 and 2020, reveals that in the case of both Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh it does show a Zero percent growth rate.

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The GST revenue collection for UP which was Rs 5,073 crore in September 2019, was Rs 5,075 crore in September 2020 – almost a Zero percent growth. Whereas, in the case of Maharashtra the GST revenue collection which was Rs 13,579 crore in September 2019, declined slightly to Rs 13,546 crore in September 2020 – almost a Zero percent growth.

The full impact of the lockdown on the economy can be gauged from the fact that the GST revenue collection which was Rs 1,13,865 crore in September 2019 came crashing down to just Rs 32,172 crore, a huge decline of Rs 81,693 crore.

In May 2020 the GST revenue improved marginally to Rs 62,151 crore, whereas the revenue collection for May 2019 was Rs 1,00, 289 crore, however, the overall decline was of Rs 38,138 crore.

In June 2020, there were signs of recovery as the GST revenue collection for the month was Rs 90,917 crore. However, in comparison the revenue collection for June 2019 was Rs 99,939 crore, an overall decline of Rs 9,022 crore.

In July 2020, the GST revenue collection came down to Rs 87,422 crore as against the revenue collection of Rs 1,02,083 crore in July 2019, an overall decline of Rs 14,661 crore.

In August 2020, the GST revenue collection slightly came down to Rs 86,449 crore as against the revenue collection of Rs 98,202 crore in August 2019, an overall decline of Rs 11,753 crore.

While big state’s like UP and Maharashtra have registered a Zero percent growth rate in terms of GST revenue collections, the data reveals that some other big state’s in the country have shown modest positive growth rate, while some have shown a negative growth rate in percentage terms.

The state’s and union territories which have shown significant growth in GST revenue include – Dadra and Nagar Haveli (79 %), Nagaland (42 %), Jammu and Kashmir (30 %), Chattisgarh (24 %) and Rajasthan (17 %). Even state’s like Odisha (18 %), Tamil Nadu (15 %), Haryana (15 %) and Kerala (11 %) have registered modest growth in revenue collections as compared to corresponding 2019 figures.

The state’s and union territories which have shown significant decline in GST revenue collections comparative of September 2019 to September 2020 include – Daman and Diu (- 83 %), Lakshadweep (- 58 %), Sikkim (- 49 %), Mizoram (- 42 %) and Goa (- 23 %).