
BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday directed officials to ensure they reach the revenue collection target. He held a meeting with senior officers from various departments to review revenue collection for this fiscal year.
The CM had presented a Rs 3.71 lakh crore outlay budget for the fiscal year, of which around Rs 60,000 crore was for the guarantee schemes. In order to implement the schemes and works announced in the budget, Siddaramaiah is convening revenue collection meetings every month, including with Commercial Tax, Excise and Stamps and Registration departments.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the Excise department target was Rs 38,525 crore, of which Rs 23,600 crore has been collected, reaching 61.26 per cent for this financial year. This is Rs 1,432.23 crore more compared to the last financial year. The CM has directed vigilance officials to work more effectively to reach the target.
The release also said the target for this year is Rs 84,475 crore. The CM had earlier set a collection target of Rs 56,317 crore, of which officials were able to collect Rs 53,103 crore, making it 94 per cent. He pointed out that Mysuru and Malnad regions lag behind in collection, and this needs to be rectified. He also directed officials to increase vigilance and stop tax leakage. In the next four months, the department has to reach 100 per cent. There is an increase in GST collection by 15 per cent, and has reached Rs 13,722 crore by end of November. Karnataka comes in second in India in GST collection.
The Department of Stamps and Registration was given a collection target of Rs 26,000 crore, of which they were able to collect Rs 15,160.97 crore, which is 58 per cent. This is, however, more compared to the previous year. The CM has directed officials to stop leakage in tax collection. Officials were also told to monitor illegal registration and increase tax collection. The Mines and Geology department has received 10 per cent more than the previous year.