GST collections in November 2023 witnessed the highest-ever growth rate of 15 per cent YoY to Rs 1,67,929 crore, according to the latest official data released on Friday, December 1. Experts said the growth has been recorded on the back of festive season sales and the rise in audits and investigations. They also said the high GST growth also signifies the resilience of the Indian economy.

“GST revenue collection for November 2023 at Rs 1,67,929 crore records highest growth rate of 15 per cent Y-o-Y,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Friday.

It said the gross GST revenue collected in November 2023 is Rs 1,67,929 crore. Out of this, CGST is Rs 30,420 crore, SGST is Rs 38,226 crore, IGST is Rs 87,009 crore (including Rs 39,198 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 12,274 crore (including ₹ 1,036 crore collected on import of goods).

“During the month, the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 20 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. It is for the sixth time that the gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.60 lakh crore mark in FY 2023-24,” the ministry said.

GST revenue in October had recorded a 13 per cent growth, and collections stood at Rs 1,72,003 crore. The highest monthly GST mop-ups were recorded in April 2023 at Rs 1,87,035 crore.

Abhishek Jain, partner & national head (indirect tax) at KPMG, said, “The consistent growth in GST collections is a big cheer for the Indian economy and to an extent signifies resilience of the economy to various global challenges. In addition, festive sales, settlement of disputes against notices issued, etc. could be some underlying reasons for higher collections in November.”

Pratik Jain, partner at PwC India, said, “The upward trend in GST collections continues as expected on the back of festive seasons and further increase in audits and investigations. This trend is likely to continue for the remainder of this fiscal as well.”

He said it is interesting to see that robust growth in GST (compared to last year) is seen in most of the manufacturing states, indicative of uplift in demand and consumption.

Vivek Jalan, partner (tax connect advisory) at multi-disciplinary tax consultancy firm Tax Connect Advisory, said, “Notice issuing time for the year 2017-18 expired on September 30, 2023, and for FY 2018-19 will lapse in December 2023. Due to this, the GST departments have seen heightened activity this fiscal and this has resulted in burgeoning revenues as demands are issued by these departments and pre-deposits are collected, even as taxpayers go to appeals.”