GST revenue – ₹ 40 thousand crores received till now, says Govt. official

The government of India has collected as much as ₹ 40,000 Crores from 13 lakh assesses in the first month. In addition to this, approximately 22 lakh assesses have filled in the details on the GSTN portal but are yet to file returns. Of the hefty ₹ 40,000 Crores received, approximately ₹15,000 crores came in the form of IGST, which is integrated goods and service tax and ₹ 5,000 in the form of cess on demerit goods such as cars and tobacco.

The overall collections are expected to accumulate more as the date for the filing closes in the coming days. The overall collections from the GST would be split equally between the state and the union government.

Under the goods and services tax, which was implemented on 1st July 2017, the businesses are expected to file a monthly tax return. The tax return from the first month was extended till 25th August. The ₹ 40,000 crores amount that has been collected is the gross amount, and the number is expected to come down as there would be refunds associated with incorporating input tax credit.

Overall even as the deadline is approaching, only 15% of the registered tax payers have filed so far. The total registered tax payers on the portal are nearly 86 lakh. Out of this important number, 71 lakh businesses migrated from the earlier VAT, excise tax system to GST and 15 lakh new taxpayers registered on the portal. The deadline for the filing was extended from 20th August to 25th August as there were complaints that the GSTN was not accepting the filings as the days to the initial original deadline was nearing.

The technical glitches possibly happened due to the heavy traffic to file the summary return in the end. Although the GSTN has been designed in such a way that it can handle a load of 40 lakh taxpayers at a particular time, but some issues persisted, and that tripped the system.

As per the GST Act, the taxpayer or any registered person for that matter who fails to submit the details of outward or inward supplies or returns by the due date will have to pay the penalty as a late fee of ₹ 100 each day till the failure continues. This is subject to a maximum penalty of ₹ 5000. Also, any person who fails to pay his or her taxes within the prescribed date will have to pay 18% tax as a penalty from the day the tax was unpaid.