GST Return Filers Up By 65% To 1.13 Crore In 5 Years

The data from the Finance Ministry stated that the number of active taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rose from 1.06 crore, as of April 2018 to 1.40 crore, as of April 2023.

The monthly GST collection for November stood at Rs 1.68 lakh crore and this marked the sixth time that gross GST collection surpassed the Rs 1.60 lakh crore in the current fiscal year. 

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GST filers increased by about 65 per cent in the five years since the tax was introduced, the finance ministry said on Sunday. The data shared by the ministry revealed that the number of GST filers surged 65 per cent to touch 1.13 crore in the five years between the 2017-18 fiscal year and 2022-23 fiscal year. 

Further, the data stated that the number of active taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rose from 1.06 crore, as of April 2018 to 1.40 crore, as of April 2023. About 90 per cent of eligible taxpayers filed GSTR-3B returns by the end of the filing month in the current fiscal year, against 68 per cent of taxpayers in FY18, reported PTI. Notably, GST was first rolled out in the 2017-18 fiscal year on July 1, 2017.

Simplifying the rules and procedures in GST has led to a boost in return filing by eligible taxpayers, the ministry said via a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). 

Simplification in Rules and Procedure in GST has resulted in increase in return filing percentage by eligible taxpayers. #GSTforGrowth #EaseofDoingBusiness #ViksitBharat #FinMinReview2023 pic.twitter.com/6Ii066qSfB

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) December 17, 2023

The data revealed that the number of GSTR-3B filers increased from 72.49 lakh in April 2018 to 1.13 crore, as of April 2023. Notably, GSTR-3B represents the monthly return form for filing outward supplies details and tax payments. 

The boost in return filing across the years is indicative of an improvement in compliance level, the finance ministry said. “With effective policy and systemic changes in GST, the compliance level in GST return filing has improved over the years,” the ministry added in another post on X. 

The monthly GST collection for November stood at Rs 1.68 lakh crore and this marked the sixth time that gross GST collection surpassed the Rs 1.60 lakh crore in the current fiscal year. 

Notably, earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha that the GST collection has been increasing and moving in an upward direction on an annual basis since its rollout in July 2017 and the average gross monthly collection in FY24 stood at Rs 1.66 lakh crore. The GST monthly collection peaked in April at Rs 1,87 lakh crore.