BENGALURU: There is good news on the GST front for the state this Diwali season as a GST loan of Rs 1,602.61 crore was released as GST compensation on Wednesday. The Centre released Rs 60,000 crore to 31 states, including Karnataka, and Union territories.
The GST Council has released a loan of Rs 1.59 lakh crore to states to deal with the shortfall in GST collection during the current financial year and this is in proportion to the overall loss of revenues and a previously agreed upon formula.
The loan amount will be adjusted with the compensation later, said an official source in the government requesting anonymity. Karnataka’s GST collection of Rs 8,259 crore in October is an 18 per cent jump over the same period last year, indicating an economic recovery.
The source said that if the supply of semiconductors had not been disrupted, the sale of cars and SUVs would have been higher, leading to an increased collection of GST. Former National Finance Commission Member Govinda Rao predicted that GST collections will continue to rise in the coming days, thanks to the stable system. Additional Chief Secretary ISN Prasad and Commercial Tax Commissioner C Shikha said the GST is being enforced harder, ensuring better compliance.
