Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday directed the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC) to prepare a detailed study to improve the revenue base of the Delhi government.
Mr. Sisodia said that the DDC will suggest short and long-term measures to improve the revenue base.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put a huge strain on government revenues in the NCT of Delhi and therefore all out efforts need to be made towards revenue augmentation so that the government is able to undertake all necessary works and programmes for the welfare of people of Delhi,” Mr. Sisodia said.
The Minister said that the DDC will carry out a detailed study on all contributing factors by analysing all relevant tax-related data of the Delhi government. He also directed the DDC to consult with leading experts of the field and relevant organisations in public finance to present a holistic analysis of the current situation and improvement measures that hold the maximum potential.
He also asked the DDC to present its findings within two months.
Commenting on this development, DDC Vice-Chairman Jasmine Shah said: “Delhi government’s early call for opening the economy and a robust healthcare strategy has set the right conditions for an economic revival. The DDC will perform a rigorous study on the improvement of the revenue base of Delhi. We will involve the field experts to perform this study. We are confident that with time and a proper strategy, we will be able to overcome the revenue deficit too.”
In a bid to improve Delhi’s revenue deficit situation, the Trade and Taxes Department of Delhi government has also started analysing the return filing status of taxpayers registered under GST.
On Tuesday, the government had said that that around 15,000 taxpayers were analysed and nearly 970 of them have not filed returns for 2020-21 from January to March and nearly 10,800 companies paid lesser or zero tax during the same period.
