For Tamil Nadu, which will have its budget on Friday, there is good news on the GST front. More than 18 months after the GST regime kicked in, the state is seeing a buoyancy in tax collection. What’s more, the state has not had to seek compensation from the Centre every month. Data released in the Rajya Sabha showed that Tamil Nadu received Rs 34,589 crore as GST collection during the first 10 months of this fiscal. The state had received Rs 24,907 crore for a little more than eight months the previous year, from July 2017, when GST was implemented, to March 2018.
“Each month we are seeing not less than 8%-10% growth in GST revenue. This includes state GST as well as state’s IGST share. The problem is only in IGST adhoc settlement,” said a senior officer dealing in GST. Among states and Union territories, Maharashtra is way ahead in terms of GST collection, at Rs 70,792 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu is in the fourth place. Overall collections may not be the best gauge. The compensation formula worked out by the Centre and the states allows for an annual growth of 14% in GST revenue.
‘Government has taken decisive steps to improve tax compliance’
In case, the growth in a state is lower, the Centre has an obligation to bridge the deficit. Tamil Nadu is seen to be among the better-off states in terms of growth, compared to the likes of Punjab, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while it is lagging behind most states from the northeast. A TN officer said the government has taken decisive steps to improve tax compliance. Extensive automation of business processes, application of eway bill mechanism, targeted action on compliance verification and enforcement based on risk assessment are the steps taken for increasing revenue collection, the officer said. Similarly, revenue from other sources like sale of fuel and liquor is also increasing.