Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Excise and Commercial Taxes K. Narayana Swamy on Wednesday said the GST revenue increased to ₹ 345.24 crore (a growth of 2.07 %) between April and December in the current fiscal (2020) when compared to the corresponding period in 2019.
The Minister said in the current fiscal year, the department earned an increased revenue of ₹1,073 crore (9.66 %) in the months of October, November and December due to the special drives conducted by the department officials. He complimented the Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargav, Commissioner Piyush Kumar and other officials for the achievement.
Recognising the good work, 257 officials of the department were given incentives and appreciation letters on Wednesday. For the first time, the Commercial Taxes Department earned a revenue of ₹1,073.03 crore through special drives, exceeding the target of ₹ 942.41 crore.
The Minister said the office of Commercial Taxes Department would soon shift to their own buildings and officials across the State were asked to identify suitable lands.
VAT collection dips
Instructions have also been given to expedite the division of the existing Andhra Pradesh Common Data Centre in Hyderabad. However, there was a sharp decline in VAT collection on liquor due to the government policy of phased control of liquor sale. The ₹ 8,070 crore VAT collected on liquor from April to December in 2019 came down to ₹3,979 crore in 2020, a dip of ₹4,091 crore. The Deputy Chief Minister said tax collection was dull due to COVID-19 impact but still the A.P. was on the top among the southern States and in the second position in India.
