India's Goods and Service Tax (GST) revenue has touched pre-COVID levels in the month of June. According the data received from the Ministry of Finance, the government has earned a GST revenue of $12 billion in June.
GST collection in June this year is almost 9 percent less than the corresponding month last year. Meanwhile, in March this year, when the lockdown was announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, monthly GST revenue was to the tune of $13.1 billion and $14 billion in February.
India's first case of coronavirus was reported in the Indian state of Kerala in late January.
The government data reveals that GST collection in April, when the country was under complete lockdown, was badly impacted by the pandemic. GST is a consumption-based tax and is applicable to the purchase of goods and the hiring of services.
“The GST collection for the month of April was $4.3 billion, which was 72% less than the revenue collected during the same month last year and the GST collections for the month of May was $8.26 billion, which was 38% less than the revenue collected during the same month last year,” the Ministry of Finance revealed in a statement on Wednesday.
Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner at EY India, said, “The GST collections while in the first quarter have obviously witnessed a substantial dip because of the current pandemic. However, the increasing trend in June inclines to a recovery being in line soon.”