HYDERABAD: The 17 per cent increase in tax revenue raised by the State government from 2016-17 to 2017-18 can be attributed to a hike in SGST, State VAT, taxes on vehicles, stamp duty and registration fee, which accounted for 31 per cent. But the majority, 69 per cent, of the tax revenue came from the State excise receipts, the CAG's State Finances Audit Report for the year ended March, 2019, pointed out.
The CAG pointed out that the efficiency in tax collection remained almost constant compared to the previous year in respect of all revenue departments, while there was an improvement in the Excise Department.
According to the report, the State, in FY 2014-15, generated Rs 2,808 cr from excise, that made up to 9.59 per cent of the total revenue receipts. In 2018-19, it made Rs 10,638, accounting for up 16.45 per cent of overall revenue receipts.
The audit said the merger of villages into municipal corporations necessitated a levy of a higher licence fee for liquor shops. However, failure in doing do so resulted in a short levy of a licence fee of Rs 5.32 crore. In two offices, District Prohibition & Excise Officers (DP&EOs) fixed the licence fee for five liquor shops at a lesser rate, resulting in a loss of Rs 5.32 crore. One shop was under DP&EO Shamshabad, and the other under DP&EO Warangal.