The union Ministry of Finance has been issuing a formal statement on the first day of every month providing a comprehensive overview of GST collections.
Even as the country marked the seventh anniversary of the implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) on 1 July, eyebrows are being raised over the discontinuation of the release of monthly tax collection data by the Centre.
The union Ministry of Finance has been issuing a formal statement on the first day of every month providing a comprehensive overview of GST collections.
The most recent data release hosted on the Press Information Bureau website for GST collections in the month of May was released on June 1 (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2022459).
For June, GST collections stand at Rs 1.74 lakh crore. This data was not shared in a formal press release, but provided to reporters informally.
Henceforth, only the gross total collections amount will be released, sources said.
No reasons have been formally given for the move that comes just weeks ahead of the first budget of the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government. Rising prices, and slowing consumption have led to demands for tax relief including the high levies of GST on many services including health insurance among others.