India is the next engine of global growth: FICCI on April GST collections

New Delhi [India], May 2 (ANI): Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Subhrakant Panda on Tuesday said that India is the next engine of global growth.

He also said that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) numbers for the month of April 2023, which was released on Monday are a real big bang start to the new financial year.
Speaking to ANI, Panda said, “Rs 1.87 lakh crores GST collection in the month of April speaks volumes of India’s potential and this is thanks to sustained reforms, which have improved the ease of doing business as well as improved data analytics which has plugged leakages”.

Panda said the upward trajectory and GST collections were once Rs 1.4 lakh crores per month were considered the base.

“This uptick in revenue, buoyancy not just speaks of the economy’s resilience, but also the potential that we are finally getting around to realizing that India will be the next engine of global,” he said.

Talking about the collapse of the First Republican Bank of United States, FICCI President said, “I don’t see any impact on the Indian banking system. We once had a twin balance sheet problem of leveraged corporate balance sheets and NPA issues with banks, but I think that is a thing of the past. Corporate balance sheets, especially cyclical industries have all deleveraged and banks in India are very strong, having raised a lot of capital, there is good oversight of the central bank”.

“India’s banking system is very strong. So I don’t see any contagion effect and this is in fact something even the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had recently mentioned US has their own set of challenges because of inflation which has left them with very few alternatives to raise rates. So this is what is now reflecting in all this stress in the banking system, but our banking system is in a very good position and I don’t see any contagion effect,” Panda added.

Earlier on Monday, the GST collection for the month of April 2023 was released, wherein it was stated that the collection in April 2023 stood at an all-time high of Rs 1,87,035 crore

Of the GST revenue collected in April, CGST is Rs 38,440 crore, SGST is Rs 47,412 crore, IGST is Rs 89,158 crore (including Rs 34,972 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 12,025 crore (including Rs 901 crore collected on import of goods).

“The revenues for April 2023 are 12 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year,” a Finance Ministry release said.