Though the August collection of ₹1.43 lakh crore is up 28 per cent on-year, but it was lower than ₹1.49 lakh crore in July. The collection crossed ₹1.5 lakh crore mark only once in April 2022 when it was recorded at ₹1.67 lakh crore.

“For the last couple of months, we’ve been trying very hard to reach that milestone of ₹1.5 trillion (lakh crore). But we have been failing a bit sometimes by ₹2,000 crore and sometimes by even ₹6,000 crore,” Tarun Bajaj said, while addressing a Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs function.

“The revenue that we will collect in October, the data of which will come on November 1, I am sure from that month onwards the CBIC on a regular basis shall deliver ₹1.5 trillion revenue for the government,” the Union secretary said.

CBIC chairman Vivek Johri, while addressing the same event presided over by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her junior minister Pankaj Chaudhary, said that the Mumbai zone the CBIC is the largest in the country with four sub zones manned by 41 commissioners.

As per details, the Mumbai zone contributes 18 per cent of CGST and 25 per cent of customs duty collections and the megapolis also chips in with 7 per cent of the national GDP.