GST collection 2024: Congress alleges slowdown in GST collections; asks government to focus on complexities of economy

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Congress on Friday claimed that the last quarter of the current fiscal year (2024-25) witnessed the “second-slowest pace” of collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the past three years and urged the government to focus on the complexities of the economy instead of imposing tax on popcorn.

Net GST growth slumps to 3.3% in December, as revenues slow and refunds rise 45%

In a statement on the latest GST numbers, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh claimed India was locked in a “pernicious cycle of low consumption-low investment-low growth-low wages”.

“The litany of demoralising news on the economic front from the deceleration in growth to the poor GST revenue collections – demands that the government apparatus shift its focus from administering tax on popcorn to engaging with the complexities of the economy,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The Congress leader said the Union Budget, to be presented next month, must provide income support to the poor and tax relief for the middle class. He also suggested that government expenditure must instead be used as a stimulus for the economy.

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“A GST 2.0 — a truly Good and Simple Tax like the Indian National Congress had envisaged in its Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections — must be instituted,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh also added that “tax and investigative agency terrorism that was deterring private investment and leading to flight of entrepreneurs must end”.

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The Congress leader said the latest data from December showed that GST collection receipts increased at the second-slowest pace in three-and-a-half years. “Net GST collections, after adjusting for refunds, slumped to 3.3 per cent growth — the lowest in FY25. This is concerning news, on several fronts,” he claimed.

Mr. Ramesh said the government recorded an increase in GST collections of 8.6% in the first three quarters of the current financial year while the Budget had estimated an 11% growth.

“This slowdown in revenue collections cannot be justification for the government to further cut down on social welfare programme like MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act], at a time when rural wages have been stagnant and consumption slackening,” he said.