AMARAVATI: In spite of the pandemic, Andhra Pradesh stood first in
GST collection
among the southern states for April to December, 2020. The state is in fact the second-highest in the country for the third quarter of the current fiscal.
Deputy chief minister (commercial taxes minister) K Narayana Swamy on Wednesday said GST revenue in the state had witnessed an increase of 2% in the corresponding period last year. “It is near double-digit growth in the third quarter as we reported nearly 9.66% growth,” Narayana Swamy told the media. He explained that the department carried out a
special drive
to improve tax collections, that helped in mop up good revenues. The state, he said, fetched nearly Rs 1,073 crore from old dues due to the special drive. A target of Rs 942 crore was set to collect old dues during the third quarter but the state achieved Rs 1073 crore.
Narayana Swamy added that following discussions with officials in
Telangana, he had directed officials to shift the common data centre located in Hyderabad. “VAT revenue from liquor had dipped to Rs 4,091 crore during the current fiscal which was of Rs 8,070 crore during April to December of 2019. However, we have prepared to forego the revenues for the welfare and wellbeing of the people as chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is determined to implement total prohibition in a phased manner,” said Narayana Swamy.
The deputy chief minister explained that total revenues of the commercial taxes department reported a fall of Rs 3,843 crore, chiefly due to dip in VAT revenues from
liquor sales
. He said the department fetched Rs 28,670 crore as against Rs 32,513 crore during the corresponding period in 2019. While tax collections fell due to the Covid-19-induced economic slowdown, the deputy CM exuded confidence that revenue collections would soon pick up.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.