Odisha govt sets Rs 10,000 crore excise revenue target
BHUBANESWAR: The state government has set a target to achieve excise revenue of Rs 10,000 crore in view of the sector’s substantial growth during the last two years. The growth in the excise sector has been enormous in 2022-23 with 15 per cent more collection than last year.
As per official sources, the state collected Rs 6,186.36 crore excise and Rs 2,585 crore VAT on liquor, making the total excise revenue for 2022-23, the highest ever at Rs 8,767.36 crore. In fact, the collection has been more than the revised target set by the state government for 2022-23.
The government had set a target of Rs 6,495 crore from excise revenue in the 2022-23 budget which was revised to Rs 6,882 crore later. The collection at the end of the financial year has been 27 per cent more than the revised estimate. Around 10 to 15 per cent growth in excise revenue has almost become the norm in Odisha for the last couple of years.
The state had collected Rs 7,628 crore including Rs 5,528 crore from excise and Rs 2,100 crore VAT on liquor in 2021-22 financial year. Similarly, Rs 5,400 crore including Rs 4,053 crore excise and Rs 1,346 crore from VAT was collected in 2020-21.
Official sources maintained in both the years the collection was decent despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Excise revenue target for 2023-24 has been set at Rs 7,740 crore which is likely to be revised to more than Rs 8,000 crore taking into account the pattern of revenue collection as the state government has come up with a comprehensive excise policy for the year.
However, as the growth in excise revenue has been around 20 per cent every year compared to the revised estimate, the government expects the target to touch Rs 10,000 crore during the fiscal.