GST nets Rs42,000 crore in first month of tax filing

The first monthly filing cycle of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that started  on 1 July is estimated to have brought in about Rs42,000 crore so far to the exchequer and is expected to rise further as the filing closes later this week.

Under the GST regime, businesses are expected to file monthly tax returns.

The authorities had extended the deadline for filing GST returns for the first month till 25 August after the website for  filing tax returns snapped just a day before the extended due date of 20 August.

Of the total Rs42,000 crore, about Rs15,000 crore has come in as Integrated-GST, which is levied on inter-state movement of goods, and another Rs5,000 crore by way of cess on demerit goods like cars and tobacco, while the remaining Rs22,000 crore has come in as Central-GST and State-GST, which would be split equally between the union and state governments.

According to tax officials, a million tax payers have filed returns and another 2 million have logged in and saved return forms.

Taxmen expect better compliance with 90-95 per cent of the assessees filing returns and paying taxes.

GST, which unifies more than a dozen central and state levies, including excise duty, service tax and VAT, however collected less than the combined inflows under the earlier dispensation.

In July last year, the government collected Rs31,782 crore by way of excise duty and Rs19,600 crore in service tax. Estimate for the combined sales tax or VAT collection by states was not available.

While 7.2 million assessees of the old indirect tax regime have migrated to the GST Network portal, nearly 5 million have completed the migration process.

Besides, 1.5 million fresh registrations have taken place and as many as 1 million of these are expected to file returns for July.

A total of 6 million businesses are expected to file returns and pay taxes for July, according to officials.

Under the GST regime, registered person who fails to furnish details of outward or inward supplies or returns required by the due date will have to pay a late fee of Rs100 for every day during which such failure continues subject to a maximum amount of Rs5,000.

Besides, every person who fails to pay the tax within the period prescribed, will be required to pay interest at 18 per cent from the day after the date on which it was due to be paid till the date of payment.

The collections from customs duty and IGST from imports post-implementation of GST have almost doubled to Rs30,000 crore in July.

This compares to indirect tax collection of over Rs 16,000 crore of the same month of 2016.

The revenue generated frT is to be split equally between the centre and the states.