(a) whether it is a fact that collections of Goods and Services Tax(GST) has dipped over five per cent in the consecutive quarters of July-September and October-December, 2019 and 13 per cent during April-June and October-December 2020 and 28 per cent in first quarter of 2021-2022;
(b) if so, the reasons therefor; and
(c) the status of economy along with the reasons as to why it is not performing in full potentiality?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)
(a) Gross GST collection including CGST, SGST, IGST and GST compensation cess before settlement and refund:
i. rose by 2.57 per cent during July-September, 2019 QoQ
ii. rose by 3.06 per cent during October-December, 2019 QoQ
iii. dipped by 41 per cent during April-June 2020 QoQ
iv. rose by 7.7 per cent during October-December 2020 QoQ and
v. rose by 81 per cent in first quarter of 2021-2022 QoQ
(b) Does not arise in view of (a) above.
(c) As per the latest estimates released by National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI), India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to contract by 7.3 per cent during Financial Year (FY) 2020-21. This reflects the unparalleled effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the containment measures that were taken to control the pandemic. The contraction was consistent with India’s enforcement of stringent lockdowns as reflected in the Government Response Stringency Index measured by Oxford University. The stringent lockdown at the very onset of the pandemic enabled flattening of the pandemic curve and, thereby, provided the necessary time to ramp up the health and testing infrastructure during the first wave when the uncertainty regarding the pandemic was very high. The fundamentals of the economy remained strong as gradual scaling back of lockdowns, along with the astute support of Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission placed the economy firmly on the path of recovery from the second half of FY 2020-21.
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