New Delhi: The gross GST revenue collected in the month of January this year went up by 10.4 per cent to Rs 1,72,129 crore (about USD 20.7 billion) compared to the corresponding figures of Rs 155,922 crore for January 2023, reflecting the higher level of economic activity in the country, official figures released in end January showed.

This is the second highest monthly collections ever and marks the third month in this financial year with collections of Rs 1.70 lakh crore or more. The government has settled Rs 43,552 crore to CGST and Rs 37,257 crore to SGST from the IGST collection.

During the April 2023-January 2024 period, cumulative gross GST collections witnessed 11.6 per cent year-on-year growth reaching Rs 16.69 lakh crore, as against Rs 14.96 lakh crore collected in the same period of the previous year (April 2022-January 2023). The higher GST collections have enabled the government to keep the fiscal deficit in check and continue its investment in big ticket infrastructure projects to spur growth.