After decline, GST collections rise to Rs. 86,703cr in December
After falling for two straight months, revenue collections under GST have risen marginally for December. The total collection in December was Rs. 86,703cr. Moreover, the finance ministry said that one crore taxpayers have been registered under GST; of which 17.11L are composition dealers, who must file returns every quarter. The ministry took to Twitter to announce the news. Here's more about it.
How have the GST collections been progressing?
From Rs. 95,000cr in September, GST revenues dropped to Rs. 83,000cr in October and Rs. 80,000cr in November. This was the lowest since GST's roll-out in July. Thus, the December figures are a welcome sign, suggesting that GST collections are entering a "stabilization phase."
What is the composition scheme?
For GST's composition scheme, small taxpayers whose turnover is up to Rs. 1.5cr are eligible. They can get rid of tedious formalities and pay GST at a fixed rate every quarter. This is regardless of what they manufacture or services they provide. Currently, it is 1% for dealers and manufacturers. For restaurants, it is 5% of the turnover. Moreover, this scheme is optional.
So, is the composition scheme popular?
After the recent GST council meet on January 18, 2018, FM Arun Jaitley had indicated that the composition scheme was discussed at length. However, the collections were low. Jaitley said, "Of the 17L dealers who registered themselves under the scheme at 1% rate, the collection for the first quarter has only been around Rs. 307cr. The scheme has not been enthusiastically responded to."
Now, what do the latest finance ministry figures suggest?
Under the composition scheme, a dealer should file a quarterly return GSTR-4 by 18th of the month after the quarter ends. For July-September'17, the last date was December 24, 2017. For this, 8.10L returns were filed by dealers amounting to Rs. 335.86cr. For October-December'17, the last date was January 18. Now, 9.25L returns were filed, amounting to Rs. 421.35cr, indicating a rise.
