At a time when the Kerala government is expressing dismay over the impact of Central policies on State finances, the growth in Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues should offer some cause for cheer.
Compared to 2021-22, GST revenues have shown encouraging growth in the first five months of the current fiscal, indicate monthly data released by the Union Finance Ministry.
Data for August 2022, released on Thursday, show a jump in GST revenues by 26% over August 2021. The tax revenue for the month stood at ₹2,036 crore. It was ₹1,612 crore in August last year.
So far this fiscal, monthly tax revenues have shown a steady increase over the same period in the previous fiscal.
In April 2022, the State's GST revenues had stood at ₹2,689 crore, a 9% growth over April 2021. The collection stood at ₹2,064 crore in May (80% increase over 2021 May), ₹2,161 crore in June (116% increase over previous June), and ₹2,161 crore (29% growth) in July.
The State government has blamed imbalances in Central policies for an impending dip in the State's revenues. Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal had stated that the State stood to be deprived of approximately ₹23,000 crore in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22 due to various factors, including the discontinuation of GST compensation.
The State is expecting a 12.7% growth in own tax revenue during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2022-2027).
As part of the measures to step up tax collection, the government has embarked upon a comprehensive revamp of the State GST department.
