J&K posts 2.94 pc growth in GST collections in FY21

Sringar: The gross GST revenue collections including settlement for the financial year 2020-21 in Jammu and Kashmir stood at Rs 4,890.35 crore as against Rs 4,750.60 crore in the previous year, registering a growth of 2.94 per cent, officials said on Friday.

The growth in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections was posted despite constraints witnessed during the initial months of the fiscal due to the COVID-19 lockdown, indicating the revival of business and economic activities in the Union Territory, the officials added.

As per the official figures, the revenue collection for the months of April, May and June stood at Rs 68.36 crore, Rs 163.71 crore and Rs 278.84 crore respectively, as against Rs 521.69 crore (April), Rs 393.55 crore (May), and Rs 420.23 crore (June) in 2019.

Despite the pandemic, the GST revenue showed growth during the second half of the financial year, the officials said.

The reasons for the buoyancy include several measures taken by the government along with the economic relief package announced in September 2020 for boosting the ailing sectors that had suffered due to the pandemic, they added.

The surveillance and monitoring by J&K’s tax department in preventing tax evasion also complemented the efforts of the government in this regard, the officials said.

Similarly, under the Motor Spirit and Diesel Oil Tax (MST), the collections for the financial year 2020-21 in the Union Territory of J&K stood at Rs 1,459.89 crore as compared to Rs 1,421.69 crore in 2019-20, up 2.71 per cent, the officials said.

Under Stamps and Registrations, the collections came in at Rs 268.29 crore as against Rs 289.13 crore in the previous fiscal.

Overall, for the financial year 2020-21, the total revenue collections stood at Rs 6,618.53 crore compared to Rs 6,472.24 crore in 2019-20, showing a growth of 2.26 per cent, the officials said.