Enhanced GST Collections Should Now Be 'New Normal': Nirmala Sitharaman

In a message to tax officers on fourth anniversary of GST, she said in the last four years the taxpayer base has almost doubled from to 1.28 crore.

Commending taxmen for the enforcement measures in dealing with GST fraud, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the enhanced revenue collection in the recent months should now be the "new normal". In a message to tax officers on the fourth anniversary of historic tax reform GST, she said in the last four years the taxpayer base has almost doubled from 66.25 lakh to 1.28 crore. She said for eight months in a row, GST revenues have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark and we have seen record GST revenue collection of Rs 1.41 lakh crore in April 2021. "Commendable work has been done in the year gone by both in the area of facilitation and enforcement with numerous cases of fraudulent dealers and ITC being registered. The enhanced revenue collection in recent months should now be the 'new normal'," Ms Sitharaman said.