After Centre collected Rs 103,458 crore revenue under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jailtey said that exceeding Rs 1-lakh crore is a landmark achievement.

In a series of tweets, Arun Jaitley said, “GST collections in April exceeding Rs. 1 lakh crore is a landmark achievement and a confirmation of increased economic activity as brought out by other reports”.

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GST collections in April exceeding Rs. 1 lakh crore is a landmark achievement and a confirmation of increased economic activity as brought out by other reports

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— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 1, 2018

“With the improved economic climate, introduction of e-way bill and improved GST compliance, GST collections would continue to show a positive trend,” said Arun Jailtey in another tweet.

With the improved economic climate, introduction of e-way bill and improved GST compliance, GST collections would continue to show a positive trend

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 1, 2018

While thanking the taxpayers, state and Central govt, Jaitley said that Increased tax collections will help the nation to expand its economic horizons and take it to loftier heights.

I would like to congratulate all Taxpayers, Hon’ble Members of the GST Council, State and Central Government tax administration for this achievement

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 1, 2018

Increased tax collections will help the nation to expand its economic horizons and take it to loftier heights.

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 1, 2018

While Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in entire 2017-18 stood Rs 7.41 lakh crore, in March the figure was Rs 89,264 crore.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the average monthly collection under the GST regime for the last eight months — August 2017-March 2018 — was Rs 89,885 crore.

“The total gross GST revenue collected in April 2018 is Rs 103,458 crore of which CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) is Rs 18,652 crore, SGST (State Goods and Services Tax) is Rs 25,704 crore, IGST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax) is Rs 50,548 crore (including 21,246 crore collected on imports) and Cess is Rs 8,554 crore (including Rs 702 crore collected on imports),” the Ministry said in a statement.

“The total number of GSTR 3B Returns filed for March up to 30th April is 60.47 lakh as against 87.12 lakh, who are eligible to file the return for March, which is 69.5 per cent.”

April was also the month for filing of quarterly return for composition dealers. Out of 19.31 lakh composition dealers, 11.47 lakh have filed their Quarterly Return (GSTR 4) which is 59.40% and have paid total tax of Rs.579 crores, which is included in the above figure of Rs.1.03 lakh crore of total GST collection.

As per the statement, the buoyancy in tax collection under the GST “reflects the upswing in the economy and better compliance”.

“However, it is usually noticed that in the last month of the financial year, people also try to pay arrears of some previous months and, therefore, this month’s revenue cannot be taken as trend for the future,” the statement added.

The total revenue earned by the Central government and the state governments after settlement in the month of April, 2018 is Rs.32,493 crore for CGST and Rs.40,257 crore for the SGST.

(with agency inputs)