new delhi, Jan. 2 -- A strong growth in imports helped the central and state governments collect Rs.1.75 lakh crore in goods and services tax (GST) receipts in December before adjusting for refunds, a 6.1% improvement over the year-ago period. After refunds, GST revenue receipts were at Rs.1.46 lakh crore, 2.2% more than the receipts in the year-ago period. A near-20% annual growth in Integrated GST (IGST), which is levied on imports, to Rs.51,977 crore in December suggests robust external trade flows as a large part of the imports go into export production. IGST is levied on imports to make sure that it is taxed at the same level as domestically produced goods that are subject to GST. It is the basic customs duty (BCD) that is levied over and above IGST on imports that gives tariff protection to local products. BCD proceeds are not included in GST receipts. For the sake of fair comparison, December's gross GST collection figures without compensation cess proceeds are compared with the same from the year-ago period. GST compensation cess proceeds-which was levied only on tobacco in December-fetched Rs.4,536 crore, down from Rs.11,471 crore last December, when the levy covered all items in the 28% rate slab. "Cess currently continues only on tobacco and pan masala. So, we can't include it in the base of last year for comparison. GST rate rationalization is an exercise independent of compensation cess. So, cess should not be included in the base for comparison purposes," a government official said. Gross GST collection rose 6.1% in spite of the GST rate reduction from 22 September....