Excise revenue up 26.74% in April-July

The collection of excise revenue in Orissa surged by about 26.74 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal, compared to the same period last year.

The total collections reached Rs 211.27 crore during this period compared to corresponding figure of Rs 167.05 crore in the previous fiscal. The July collections stood at Rs 55.24 crore compared to Rs 42.11 crore last year.

Among the districts, the growth rate of collection was highest at 51.52 percent in Puri district followed by 43.08 percent in Khurda district. The excise department which is eyeing a revenue of Rs 800 crore during the current fiscal, is hopeful of achieving the target. Excise revenue collection in Puri district increased from Rs 15.22 crore in the first four months of 2008-09 to Rs 23.64 crore in this fiscal. Similarly, the collection in Khurda district went up by 43.08 percent to Rs 11.11 crore from Rs 7.7 crore.

Balasore district recorded an increase of 27.71 percent from Rs 1.18 crore to Rs 1.51 crore during this period. The 32.12 percent growth in the collections of the Orissa State Beverages Corporation (OSBC) from Rs 112.49 crore to Rs 148.62 crore has significantly helped the government to attain 26.47 percent overall growth in the collection of excise revenue. However, some districts recorded decline in the collection compared to the previous year. These districts were Koraput (-0.11 percent), Keonjhar (-10.75), Bolangir (-1.44) and Jagatsinghpur (1.12 percent. Orissa recorded 25 percent growth in excise collections during 2008-09 compared to 2007-08. The excise revenue was Rs 656 crore in the last fiscal compared to Rs 524.82 crore in 2007-08. It marginally exceeded the revised target of Rs 650 crore set by the state government for 2008-09.