The coronavirus pandemic has affected the goods and services (GST) collection and it has been estimated by the government that the GST collection shortfall is Rs 2.35 lakh crore for fiscal 2021.

Following a meeting of the decision making body which fixes GST policies, the union finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the coronavirus pandemic was "an act of God" and an unforeseen factor which has impacted GST collections. Nirmala Sitharaman said "This year we are facing an extraordinary situation. We are facing an act of God where we may even see a contraction".

The central government has released Rs 1.65 lakh crore as GST compensation to states for fiscal 2020, and cess collected for GST compensation was Rs 95,444 crore. It was after severe pressure from states seeking compensation for GST collection shortfall due to pandemic that this meeting of the GST Council was held yesterday.