HYDERABAD: Despite the Covid-induced lockdown, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and commercial tax collections of Telangana have touched a record Rs 35,315 crore up to December, 2020, which is 4.5 per cent higher than the revenue for the corresponding period last year. The revenue through GST and Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and excise was Rs 31,456 crore in 2018-19 up to December and Rs 33,947 crore during the corresponding period in 2019-20, which jumped to Rs 35,315 crore in 2020- 21, up to December. The rise in tax collections is mainly because of the increased revenue through the sale of liquor and petrol.
As public transportation has not been fully operational in Hyderabad, people have been using personal vehicles and pushing up petrol and diesel sales. In December, 2018, the revenue through VAT from petrol and diesel was Rs 856 crore, the next year it was Rs 862 crore and in December, 2020, Rs 921 crore. According to official sources, in April, 2020 the VAT on petrol and diesel was just Rs 181 crore and Rs 110 crore in May. But it increased considerably in the later months. Both the major revenue generating departments — Commercial Taxes and Excise — are handled by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar.
Sources said the sale of liquor had been steady and that of petrol and diesel increased after July. Another reason for the rise in revenue is the GST compensation received from the Central government. According to a release issued by the Ministry of Finance on Friday, Telangana’s GST collections were Rs 3,543 crore in December, 2020 — four per cent more than the December, 2019 collections of Rs 3,420 crore. “The December GST collections are the highest in 2020-21,” sources in State government said.
Welfare schemes helped
Officials also attributed the improved revenue collections to the government’s welfare schemes. “We have been giving Aasara pensions and Rythu Bandhu. People have been spending this money on various items and the money, which is in circulation in the market, will have a cascading effect and the government is getting taxes,” the sources said.