PATNA: A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report today said Bihar government suffered a revenue loss of Rs 1,403.8 crore in 2013-14 due to various reasons including under-assessment and non-levy or short levy of taxes.
The loss of revenue pertained to various departments like state excise, commercial taxes, taxes on vehicles, land revenue, non-ferrous mining, metallurgical industries and
other departments, according to the CAG report on revenue sector tabled in the state legislature.
Bihar Accountant General (AG), Audit, P K Singh said: "The excise revenue loss has been calculated on the basis of minimum guaranteed quota (MGQ) of suppliers. A possibility of more revenue loss cannot be denied if MGQ increases or the supply is over and above it."
"Having 17 different country liquor supply rates instead of one as was the practice, is also in violation of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) instructions and seems to have been done with a view to benefit liquor suppliers," Singh said.
The AG (Audit) also said the issue was a departure from the established procedure adopted in previous tenders and also failed in the claimed objective of breaking down cartelisation of liquor suppliers.
It may be noted that senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi had leveled allegations of a scam in the department to benefit country liquor manufacturers and suppliers.
Modi had claimed the state government was losing revenue to the tune of Rs 100 crore in a span of just 26 days in December 2014.