Mumbai: As the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government gets set to complete one year in office on November 28, celebrations have already begun. Despite the current lockdown, the state’s revenue collection in October increased for the first time since April, by 48.38 per cent, at Rs 21,367 crore as against the Rs 14,400 crore in September.
Of the Rs 21,267 crore, Rs 15,799 crore comes from the Goods and Services Tax, Rs 1,234 crore from excise duty and Rs 1,752 crore from stamp duty and registration fees.
An official from the state finance department told The Free Press Journal, “There is a recovery but it is not substantial to fill the revenue gap. It is true that the revenue collection of Rs 21,367 crore is lower compared to Rs 23,321 crore in October 2019. But the month-on-month rise has been Rs 6,967 crore (Rs 21,367 crore in October compared to Rs 14,400 crore in September. The government's decision to lower stamp duty did not impact revenue but instead, initiated a rise. Similarly, the excise collection too has been increasing. These are all positives but not sufficient enough.’’ He said the state’s revenue collection in August was Rs 15,470 crore while it was Rs 19,334 crore in July, Rs 19,344 crore in June, Rs 10,584 crore in May and Rs 11,894 in April.
However, there is a shortfall of over Rs 46,106.16 crore for April-September 2020, compared to the corresponding period last year.
Against a revenue collection of Rs 1,37,557.34 crore (April-September 2019), the government mopped up Rs 91,451.18 crore this year. The state government hopes to mop up Rs 3,47,456.89 crore for 2020-21.
The official further said early clearance of GST arrears worth Rs 38,000 crore by the Centre would further ease the financial crunch. He added that the government expected recovery after manufacturing, construction and service sectors witnessed further churn.