Excise revenue surges by 25%

The collection of excise revenue in Orissa surged by about 25 percent during 2008-09 compared to the previous fiscal. Collection was Rs 656 crore during the last fiscal compared to Rs 524.82 crore in 2007-08.

In the process, the collections marginally exceeded the revised target of Rs 650 crore set by the state government for the fiscal.

Enforcement drive, sealing of the vaccum areas through opening up of new liquor shop, 10 percent increase in the license fee and special drive to settle the unsettled liquor shops, contributed to the growth in collections.

Sources said, the collection in 5 districts and the Orissa State Beverages Corporation (OSBC) exceeded the target set for the year. These districts are Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Khurda and Nawarangpur.

The collection in Balasore district was Rs 4.86 crore against the target of Rs 4.8 crore, which is 25.22 percent higher than the previous year’s collections.

Jagatsinghpur district also exceeded the target set for the year with the collection reaching Rs 10.95 crore compared to the target of Rs 10.75 crore in 2008-09.This was 19.49 percent higher than the collections in 2007-08.

Similarly, the collection in Jajpur district increased by 23.33 percent to Rs 4.7 crore during the fiscal. While the collection increased by 26.39 percent to Rs 31.7crore in Khurda district, it surged by 29.88 percent to Rs 3.3 crore in Nawarangpur district.

Though other districts achieved higher collections compared to 2007-08, they fell short of the revised target set for the excise department.