Tax collection up postnote ban in Himachal

SHIMLA:Post demonetisation, the tax collection, which was expected to take a hit, has gone up in the state. In December-January, the tax collection has been reported to be 9% and 13% (respectively) higher than that of last year, for the same period.

The tax collection till January 31 has reached ₹5,200 crore while for the same month last year, the figure stood at ₹4,600 crore. However, the department still remains short of its annual target of ₹6,500 crore. As per sources, tax collection is expected to be high in the month of March and department may achieve the target. Earlier, a committee to review the tax and non-tax revenue had pulled up the department for non-levy of taxes across the state. However, the department is now assuring to achieve the target by the end of the current financial year.

“Revenue has two parts — tax and excise. Post note ban, excise collection has gone up in some cases and it is true that the tax collection is higher,” sources said. “We are a little short of target, which will be surely achieved by March 31,” they added.

The lackadaisical approach of the department towards tax collection is evident after the finance department expressed concern over the position of VAT collection. A meeting was held in December in which the additional chief secretary finance had said that against the target of 19% growth over last year’s collection, the increase was very low.

In December, the pending recovery of taxes was Rs 700 crore of which a large amount is still out of the state coffer.

Meanwhile, the excise department has launched campaign to dispose the pending recovery cases. Principal secretary excise and taxation Onkar Sharma said the department has geared up the tax collection.

“Process to dispose pending recoveries has been initiated and we are hoping to over achieve the given target,” he said.