Commercial tax April collections dip by 13.25 %

With the economic slowdown impacting the state’s economy, the collection of commercial taxes in the first month of the current fiscal declined by 13.25 percent compared to the same period last fiscal. The total collections were Rs188.74 crore compared to Rs 217.58 crore in April 2008, sources said.

The collection of Orissa Sales Tax/Value Added Tax (VAT) during the month was Rs 125.52 crore. This is 1.97 percent lower than the Rs 128.04 crore collected in April last year. Similarly, collection of Central Sales Tax (CST) declined by 52.79 percent to Rs 20.6 crore from Rs 43.63 crore during this period.

The April collection of entry tax declined by 9.82 percent to Rs 37.82 crore from Rs 41.95 crore in the previous year. The drop in collections of entertainment tax and land tax was marginal at 1.79 percent during this period.

However, the collections of professional tax surged by 21.56 percent to Rs 4.73 crore compared to Rs 3.88 crore in April last year.

Sources said, value added tax norms were amended last year facilitating the traders to deposit their tax up to March 25 by 31 March. So the tax which was due in April was mostly paid in March, affecting the collections in April.

Besides, the reduction of CST rate from 3 percent to 2 percent was effected in May last year which kept the collections of CST higher in April 2008 compared to this year.