New Delhi, Jan 1 : The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collected in December 2020 reached a record high of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore. Out of the total GST revenue collection of Rs 1,15,174 crore, Central GST (CGST) was Rs 21,365 crore, State GST (SGST) was Rs 27,804 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) was Rs 57,426 crore (including Rs 27,050 crore collected on import of goods), said a Finance Ministry statement. Cess contributed Rs 8,579 crore to the overall GST revenue, including Rs 971 crore collected on import of goods. "The GST revenues during December 2020 have been the highest since the introduction of GST and it is the first time that it has crossed Rs 1.15 lakh crore. The highest GST collection till now was Rs 1,13,866 crore in the month of April 2019," the statement said. As per the official statement, the revenues of April usually tend to be high since they pertain to the returns of March, which marks the end of the financial year. The December 2020 revenues are significantly higher than last month's revenues of Rs 1,04,963 crore. This is the highest growth in monthly revenues since the last 21 months. The growth can be attributed to the combined effect of the rapid economic recovery and the nationwide drive against GST evaders and fake bills along with many systemic changes introduced recently, which have led to improved compliance, as per the ministry. The total number of GSTR-3B Returns filed for the month of November up to December 31, 2020 was 87 lakh. "The government has settled Rs 23,276 crore to CGST and Rs 17,681 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of December 2020 is Rs 44,641 crore for CGST and Rs 45,485 crore for the SGST," it said. In line with the recent trend of recovery in the GST revenues, the revenues for the month of December 2020 are 12 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, revenues from import of goods was 27 per cent higher and the revenues from domestic transaction, including import of services, were 8 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. The statement noted that till now, GST revenues have crossed Rs 1.1 lakh crore three times since the introduction of GST. The average growth in GST revenues during the last quarter has been 7.3 per cent as compared to (-) 8.2 per cent during the second quarter and (-) 41.0 per cent during the first quarter of the financial year. /IANS