September GST collection Rs 95,480 crore.
The first six months of the current fiscal ended on a high with a record 26.19 lakh e-way bills generated on September 30, said Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Finance Secretary. This is the highest ever count for a single day.
Data on the record e-way bill generation came on a day when the Finance Ministry reported that GST collection had turned positive on a yearly basis for the first time in the current fiscal. GST collection in September surged to Rs 95,480 crore, which is 4 per cent higher than the figure for the corresponding month last fiscal and 10 per cent higher than the mobilisation in August.
“This is the third day in this year when a record number of e-way bills have been generated. Earlier, on February 29, 25.19 lakh e-way bills were generated, while on January 31 around 24.74 lakh e-way bills were generated,” the Finance Secretary said here on Thursday. More than 5.74 crore e-way bills were generated in September.
“These are affirmative signs of economic growth as business activities are unlocking gradually and despite the adverse impact of Covid-19, there are indicators of economic recovery,” added Pandey.
An e-way bill is a kind of electronic challan which shows that tax has been fully paid before goods are moved from one place to another, within the State (intra-State) or outside the State (inter-State). It is required to carry any consignment of goods of a value exceeding Rs 50,000. This threshold can be higher for intra-State activities. It is generated from the GST Common Portal for e-Way bill system by registered persons or transporters, who cause movement of goods, before the commencement of such movement. An e-Way bill has two parts – A & B. While Part A has invoice details, Part B has details about the vehicle, including registration number.
The Finance Secretary said this was an affirmative sign of economic recovery with increased business activities since the lockdown due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic six months back. The number of e-Way bills generated this month was 9.3 per cent more than that generated in September of the previous year.
He said some major industrial states had shown positive growth in GST collection, which is indicative of the economic recovery being on track. “With the festive season next month, we are confident of better recovery in GST collection,” he said.
