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Union Budget 2018: Government Stares At Rs 50,000 Crore GST Revenue Shortfall In FY18

The revenues from GST for the current fiscal has been pegged at over Rs 4.44 lakh crore.

A worker holds his goods and services tax (GST) papers in his store at a wholesale market in Delhi. (Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg) 
A worker holds his goods and services tax (GST) papers in his store at a wholesale market in Delhi. (Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg) 

The government stares at a Rs 50,000 crore GST revenue shortfall in the current fiscal, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said today.

The revenue from Goods and Services Tax for the current fiscal has been pegged at over Rs 4.44 lakh crore, while for next fiscal it is Rs 7.43 lakh crore.

The total revenues from indirect taxes (excise, customs and GST) in 2018-19 is budgeted at Rs 11.16 lakh crore. This is against Rs 9,36,375 crore estimated to be collected in current fiscal from indirect taxes (excise, customs, service tax and GST).

"The shortfall (as against the revenue department's calculation) in GST collection is Rs 50,000 crore for current fiscal," Adhia told reporters.

Indirect Tax reform GST, which subsumed over a dozen local levies, including excise and service tax, was introduced from July 1, 2017. However, since the revenue collection from GST comes with a lag of 1 month, the government has to do with GST collections only till February. March revenue under GST will come only in April.

The government estimates to collect over Rs 2.76 lakh crore from excise duty and Rs 79,507 crore from service tax in current fiscal till March. Customs revenue will add up to Rs 1.35 lakh crore.

In 2018-19 fiscal, the government aims to collect over Rs 1.12 lakh crore from customs duty and over Rs 2.59 lakh crore from excise duty. Besides, an increase in customs duty in Budget in about four dozen item heads will result in a revenue gain of about Rs 6,000 crore, a government official said.

In Budget 2018-19, Jaitley also announced renaming of Central Board of Excise and Customs to Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Watch this interview with Vanaja Sarna, chairperson of the Central Board of Excise and Customs on the GST revenue collection.