THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government mobilised Rs 83 crore in flood cess in August, the first month of the new cess. The GST council had allowed the state to collect a maximum of Rs 2,000 crore as cess to fund post-flood rebuilding activities.
Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told TNIE that the collection in the first month was on expected lines. But it was quite insufficient to meet the rebuilding requirements considering the economic slowdown, he said. The state can collect the cess for two years.
The total tax collection, including the GST and state taxes, in the first six months of the current fiscal saw only a marginal rise which experts term as an indicator of the economic slowdown. Until September this fiscal, the total tax collection stood at Rs 20,659.12 crore as against the Rs 20,344.14 crore in the corresponding period previous fiscal. The near-flat growth rate is attributed to the huge dip in the tax revenue from liquor and fuel sales. The government had set a target of 20 per cent increase in tax revenue this fiscal.
The collection from liquor and fuel sales between April and September this financial year was Rs 7,834.75 crore as against the previous fiscal’s Rs 8,395.64 crore. Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said that recession had started affecting the spending of people. “People are reluctant to spend money. They are apprehensive of the future. The fall in overseas remittance too is a cause for worry,” he said.
The minister said that the stagnation in the construction sector has affected the sale of petrol and diesel. He criticised the Union Government for neglecting the state’s demand for raising the borrowing limit.
“In these hard times, the state government needs more money to boost the economy. But the centre has taken a contradictory stand by reducing the state’s borrowing capacity by about 6,000 crore,” he said.
The GST collections until September this fiscal was Rs 12,488.73 crore. The minister said that the GST collection was showing a positive trend. “In fact, the GST has almost achieved the set target of 20 per cent growth. This is excluding the adjustments in the adhoc settlements of IGST dues,” he added.