In January, the government’s GST collection rose to an all-time high of nearly 1.2 lakh crore. This can be interpreted as a positive signal for India’s economic recovery. Compared to the revenues collected in the same period last year, there is an increase of about 8% this time and also an increase of 4% from the previous month.
Experts believe the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will get an upper hand due to this boost and the government can consider expanding its expenditure alongside minimizing direct taxes.
The Finance Ministry of India quoted in a statement, “GST revenues above Rs 1 lakh crore for a stretch of last four months and a steep increasing trend over this period are clear indicators of rapid economic recovery post-pandemic.” While other factors that contributed to the continual surge of our economy include Deep Data Analytics, Close Surveillance on Fake Billings, and efficient tax administration.
In the upcoming budget, Sitharaman is expected to introduce a new ‘Covid Cess’. The revenues collected through cess and surcharge are only to be wielded by the central government and won’t be shared with the state governments. Hence, these revenues can be leveraged by the government in creating jobs, increasing farm income, and boosting the middle, small, and micro enterprises.
