Sliding GST collections may put pressure on government ST rate cut and lenient implementation of the tax reform has caused GST collection in December to slip to Rs 80,808 crore, down 14% from August and 3% from NovemberThings don’t augur well for the exchequer, with recent GST rate cuts and a lenient implementation of the goods and services tax causing collections to slide further in December, posing a challenge to the government. Total GST collection of the central and state governments, including taxes on inter-state supplies and the cess on certain items, added up to Rs80,808 crore in December.This is a 14% drop from the collections in August, the first month of tax collection and return filing under the new indirect tax system that kicked in on 1 July. Compared with the receipts in November, December’s GST collection was marginally lower by 3%.Lower-than-expected GST collections, along with the extra spending that Parliament approved earlier this month involving a net cash