India’s GST Collections Reach Rs 1.74 Lakh Crore in August 2024
In August 2024, India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections reached Rs 1.74 lakh crore, showing a 10% increase compared to the same month last year. In August 2023, the collection was Rs 1.59 lakh crore.
So far in 2024, the total GST collection has been Rs 9.13 lakh crore, which is 10.1% higher than the Rs 8.29 lakh crore collected in the same period of 2023. The highest monthly collection was recorded in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore.
For the fiscal year 2023-24, the total gross GST collection was Rs 20.18 lakh crore, an 11.7% increase from the previous fiscal year. The average monthly collection for the fiscal year ending in March 2024 was Rs 1.68 lakh crore, surpassing the previous year’s average of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
The increase in GST collections indicates a positive trend for India’s economy, highlighting strong domestic consumption and active import activity. This is a good sign for the country’s financial health and economic recovery efforts, showing resilience despite global uncertainties.
The GST was introduced in India on July 1, 2017. It replaced the old, complicated tax system and made it easier for businesses to comply with tax rules. The GST Council, which includes the Union Finance Minister and Finance Ministers from all states, oversees the GST system.
Many everyday items like hair oil, toothpaste, soap, wheat, rice, and mobile phones have lower or zero GST rates, helping people save money. A study by the Finance Ministry found that consumers save at least 4% on their monthly household expenses due to GST.
Doubts Revealed
GST -: GST stands for Goods and Services Tax. It is a tax that people pay when they buy goods (like toys or clothes) and services (like haircuts or movie tickets). It was introduced in India in 2017 to make the tax system simpler.
Rs 1.74 Lakh Crore -: Rs 1.74 Lakh Crore is a way to say a very large amount of money in India. ‘Lakh’ means 100,000 and ‘Crore’ means 10 million. So, Rs 1.74 Lakh Crore is 1.74 trillion rupees.
Fiscal Year -: A fiscal year is a 12-month period used for budgeting and financial purposes. In India, it starts on April 1st and ends on March 31st of the next year.
10% increase -: A 10% increase means that the amount of money collected this year is 10% more than what was collected last year. If you had 100 rupees last year, a 10% increase means you now have 110 rupees.
April -: April is the fourth month of the year. In this context, it is mentioned because it had the highest GST collection in 2024.
2017 -: 2017 is the year when GST was introduced in India. Before that, there were many different types of taxes, which made things complicated.
