Bad news for the Indian economy continued to pile on. After the GDP for April-June 2019 quarter touched a six-year low at 5 per cent, the country’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in August has dropped to Rs 98,202 crore from over Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the previous month, and auto sales number for the same period has forcefully reflected the alarming slowdown in the economy.

While Maruti saw a decline of 33 per cent, Tata Motors sales figure collapsed by 58 per cent and Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) reported a 51.28 per cent decline in domestic sales.

This is the second time during this year that the revenue collection from the GST slipped below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. First, it happened in June when the collection was Rs 99,939 crore. However, it was Rs 1.02 lakh crore in July. However, total GST for August was 4.5 per cent higher than the Rs 93,960 crore collected in the same month last year.

Central GST collections stood at Rs 17,733 crore, State GST Rs 24,239 crore.

Integrated GST collection stood at Rs 48,958 crore (including Rs 24,818 crore collected on imports) during August this year, a statement said. It further said that cess collection stood at Rs 7,273 crore (including Rs 841 crore collected on imports).

The number of GSTR 3B Returns (summary of self-assessed return) filed for the month of July up to end-August totalled 75.80 lakh. As per the statement, Rs 27,955 crore has been released to States as GST compensation for June-July 2019. “The Government has settled Rs 23,165 crore to CGST and Rs 16,623 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by the Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of August 2019 is Rs 40,898 crore for CGST and Rs 40,862 crore for the SGST,” it said.

Gross GST collections during April-August stood at Rs 5,14,378 crore, up from Rs 4,83,538 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. This shows a growth of 6.3 per cent during the five months of the current fiscal.

For 2019-20, the Government proposes to collect Rs 6.10 lakh crore from CGST and Rs 1.01 lakh crore as compensation cess. The IGST balance has been pegged at Rs 50,000 crore. The CGST collection in 2018-19 was Rs 4.25 lakh crore, while compensation cess was over Rs 97,000 crore.

AUTO SALE: The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Sunday reported a 32.7 per cent decline in sales at 1,06,413 units in August. The company had sold 1,58,189 units in August last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined by 34.3 per cent at 97,061 units last month as against 1,47,700 units in August 2018, it added. Sales of mini cars comprising Alto and WagonR stood at 10,123 units as compared to 35,895 units in the same month last year, down 71.8 per cent. Sales of compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, fell 23.9 per cent at 54,274 units as against 71,364 cars in August last year. Mid-sized sedan Ciaz sold 1,596 units as compared to 7,002 units earlier.

However, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, rose 3.1 per cent at 18,522 units as compared to 17,971 in the year-ago month, MSI said. Exports in August were down by 10.8 per cent at 9,352 units as against 10,489 units in the corresponding month last year, the company said.

On the other hand, Tata Motors reported a 58 per cent decline in its domestic passenger vehicle sales at 7,316 units in August. The company had sold 17,351 units in the same month last year, Tata Motors said in a statement.

News agency PTI quoted Tata Motors president Passenger Vehicles Business Unit Mayank Pareek saying that the market continued to be challenging, but the company has focused on improving its retail sales, which saw an uptick of 42 per cent.

“We are hopeful that the recently announced financial package by Finance Minister will help in improving the liquidity of market and to reduce the ownership cost. This will certainly help the industry to revive and drive the growth,” he added.

In the commercial vehicles segment, Tata Motors said its total sales were down 45 per cent at 21,824 units last month as against 39,859 units in August 2018.

Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has reported 21 per cent decline in total sales at 11,544 units in August. The company had sold 14,581 units in the same month last year, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said in a statement. Sales in the domestic market stood at 10,701 units as compared to 14,100 units in August 2018, down 24 per cent. However, exports during the month increased nearly two-fold to 843 units as against 481 in the year-ago month, TKM said.

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) has also reported a 51.28 per cent decline in domestic sales at 8,291 units in August as against 17,020 units in the same month last year. The company also exported 227 units last month. “The auto sector continues to witness high de-growth due to poor consumer sentiment,” HCIL Senior Vice President and Director, Sales and Marketing Rajesh Goel said in a statement.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported a 9.54 per cent decline in total sales at 56,005 units in August.

The company had sold 61,912 units in the same month last year, HMIL said in a statement. Domestic sales were down 16.58 per cent to 38,205 units as against 45,801 units in August 2018, the company added. Exports, however, grew 10.48 per cent to 17,800 units last month as compared to 16,111 units in the year-ago period, HMIL said.

The slowdown has also badly hit auto major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) which on Sunday reported a 25 per cent fall in total sales to 36,085 units in August. The company had sold 48,324 units in the corresponding month last year, M&M said in a statement.

In the domestic market, sales were down 26 per cent to 33,564 units last month, compared to 45,373 units in August 2018. Exports declined 15 per cent to 2,521 units, against 2,951 in the year-ago month.

In the passenger vehicle segment, which includes utility vehicles, cars and vans, the company sold 13,507 units last month as compared to 19,758 vehicles in the same month of 2018, a drop of 32 per cent. In the commercial vehicle segment, the company sold 14, 684 vehicles as against 20,326 units a year ago, down 28 per cent. M&M Aug tractor sales down 17 pc at 14,817 units. The company had sold 17,785 units in the same month last year, M&M said in a statement. Domestic tractor sales were at 13,871 units as against 16,375 units in the year-ago month, down 15 per cent, it added.

Exports during the month stood at 946 units as compared to 1,410 units in August last year, down 33 per cent, M&M said.

Meanwhile, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, a Volvo Group and Eicher Motors joint venture, on Sunday reported a 41.7 per cent decline in total sales at 3,538 units in August. The company had sold 6,069 units in August last year, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) said in a statement.

Eicher branded trucks and buses recorded sales of 3,462 units in August as compared to 5,948 units in the same month last year, a decline of 41.8 per cent, it added. Volvo Trucks recorded sales of 76 units in last month as against 121 units in August 2018, down 37.2 per cent.