BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Friday, September 17, 2021, demanded that the divisible pool of funds be shared by the Centre and states should be increased so that states like Odisha get a fair share.Attending the first physical meeting of the GST Council in 20 months at Lucknow, Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari is reported to have expressed concern over the increase in cess or surcharge imposed by the Centre. He said this has not benefited the states in any manner as they do not get any share from them. On the other hand, the revenue goes to the Centre, he stated.
The Finance Minister suggested that a mechanism should be worked out so that the states are also benefited. Sources said Odisha government’s view on bringing petrol and diesel under the purview of GST was that the State collects less revenue from petrol and diesel compared to the Centre.
Official sources said the Centre collects Rs 32.9 from one litre of petrol while the State government collects Rs 21.4 per litre by imposing 40 per cent (pc) value-added tax (VAT). Similarly, the Centre collects Rs 31.8 from a litre of diesel while the State government gets Rs 18.9 by imposing 28 pc VAT. The State government raises between Rs 5,500 to Rs 6,000 crore from VAT on petrol and diesel every year.