#GST thread. Stay with me: This govt wont share real GST data. Instead we fall for its stupid press releases every month. They mean near zilch. This is what the central govt has really collected by August. Net of refunds and settlement - the only way GST nos should be read. 
It is erroneous to merely compare total Rs 1 lakh per month target for states+centre with press releases which do not account for how IGST was settled each month. So, these cant tell what the Centre really got. This table shows how erratic IGST settlement has been.
Then you got to look at states and their revenue separately. Here is a chart of how state revenues are doing. After a year some are doing quite badly. Why? Ask.
My colleague @ishan_83 and I have been trying to understand GST for months and periodically share what we learn from filing RTIs and sourcing data that the Union govt refuses to share. See how the govt internally measures the gap in in its collections
Why is that the govt will not share this data with the public? Why should one need to file an RTI for it or source it discreetly? Why is it that we have not asked it to strongly enough so far? Why do we fall for the same press release tricks each time?
There is a cost all of us as citizens shall pay for the govt falling short of its GST revenues. The govt will have to fill this hole up somehow. Like keeping petrol prices high or selling one PSU to another etc.
How good is GST compliance compared to the targets? Why is it REALLY lagging? What kind of evasion tactics have been developed by unscrupulous businesses? Those are the questions we must find answers to next. End
