Odisha feels slowdown blues in tax collection

With industrial activity in the state at a low ebb and consumption weakening because of the prevailing slowdown, Odisha has managed to record only modest 14.6 per cent growth in commercial tax collection in April-September period of 2012-13.

Overall commercial tax collection, inclusive of value added tax (VAT), Central sales tax (CST), entry tax, professional tax and entertainment tax totaled to Rs 4,599.52 crore in the period against Rs 4,103.39 crore achieved in the year-ago period.

“Odisha’s economy is clearly feeling the slowdown blues. There is slump in consumption as well as industrial activity. CST collection has also more or less stagnated at 4.36 per cent. Though our collection on a sequential basis has risen 14.6 per cent, it is nowhere near the kind of growth the state used to record in previous years,” said a senior finance department official.

Entry tax in the period rose only marginally at 4.08 per cent from Rs 557.47 crore to Rs 580.22 crore. Professional tax, too, was flat, recording increase of 6.66 per cent at Rs 56.42 crore.

VAT registered spike of 17.70 per cent at Rs 3,625.18 crore compared to Rs 3,080.13 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. Total sales tax, including VAT and CST, stood at Rs 3,958.38 crore, a growth of 16.44 per cent.

The state commissionerate of commercial taxes has set a collection target of Rs 12,583.25 crore for the current fiscal.