T.N.’s own revenue up by over 7%

Growth driven by increase in land revenue and liquor sale

Tamil Nadu’s own tax revenue increased by 7.2%, to ₹8,938.22 crore in September, when compared to ₹8,340.56 crore in the same period last year, according to provisional figures of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The growth was driven by increase in land revenue, stamp and registration fees and liquor revenue.

The State derives its own revenue, called State’s own tax revenue (SOTR), from stamp duty and registration fees, value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel, excise duty on liquor, motor vehicle tax and the States Goods and Services Tax. SOTR accounts for 70% of Tamil Nadu’s total revenue.

Among the SOTR components, land revenue jumped by over 300%, to ₹17.16 crore in September, from ₹4.27 crore in September 2019.

Another SOTR component, the State excise duties (which reflects liquor revenue), grew by 19.6%, to ₹712.74 crore in September, from ₹595.74 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue from stamps and registration fees increased by 12.6%, to ₹1,102.09 crore in September, from ₹978.65 crore in the same period last year.

Sales tax (which includes VAT on petrol, diesel and liquor) increased by 3.27%, to ₹3,887.20 crore in September, from ₹3,764.06 crore in the same period last year.

The State Goods and Services Tax increased by 7.4%, to ₹3,219.03 crore in September, from ₹2,997.84 crore in the same period last year.

SOTR has shown a positive growth for the second time since July, since the lockdown to curb COVID-19 was imposed in mid-March. However, the State’s financial position will remain challenging, amid rising expenditure towards controlling the pandemic on the one hand and slower growth in revenues on the other.

For the first half of fiscal 2020-21 (April-September 2020), SOTR declined by nearly 25%, to ₹36,907.46 crore, from ₹49,069.12 crore in the comparable period last year.

The State’s fiscal deficit, so far in 2020-21 (till September), stood at ₹31,205.59 crore. Fiscal deficit is the difference between total revenue and expenditure of the State, excluding borrowings. The revenue deficit (the difference between government’s revenue receipts and revenue expenditure) so far in 2020-21 (till September) stood at ₹23,591.04 crore. The revenue deficit reflects that the government’s earnings are not adequate to meet its day-to-day operational expenses.

Amid a deficit situation, Tamil Nadu has borrowed ₹54,000 crore from April 7 to October 20, from the market, through issue of State development bonds, which is 88% more than the ₹28,690 crore borrowed in the same period last year.