UP govt to crack down on tax evasion, eyes over Rs 1.4-trn revenue in FY20

CM Adityanath also exhorted the excise department to pull up its socks for posting higher excise revenue in the current financial year

Uttar Pradesh government will crack down on Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaders to improve its tax and non-tax revenue collection.

The state is targetting a tax mop-up of Rs 1.4 trillion in the current financial year, 4.4 per cent higher than the revised budgetary estimates of Rs 1.34 trillion in 2018-19. 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the commercial tax department to employ technology tools to identify tax evaders for taking action. In a review meeting held in Lucknow recently, he underlined that UP was the largest consumer state and, as such, it should top the GST collection tally as well.

He directed the state taxman to take "effective steps" to improve the state tax collection by rooting out chronic tax evasion, and noted that a bigger GST kitty would boost state revenues and provide greater leverage to the government to invest in public welfare schemes. 

During April-July 2019, UP tax revenue, comprising GST, Value Added Tax (VAT), excise, stamp and registration, transport, energy and land revenue heads, stood at Rs 41,202 crore. Similarly, the state clocked a non-tax revenue of Rs 1,982 crore during the first 4 months of the current financial year under the heads of mining, minerals, irrigation, forest and wildlife, police, public works department (PWD), housing, and employment, etc.

Adityanath also exhorted the excise department to pull up its socks for posting higher excise revenue in the current financial year. Meanwhile, the CM directed the transport department to develop bus terminals on the pattern of airports, so that they could be harnessed for commercial use and to boost income. 

During 2019-20, UP has projected total revenue receipts of more than Rs 3.91 trillion, including tax and non-tax revenue, both emanating from state collection and its share from the tax and non-tax revenue of the Centre, apart from the central grants of Rs 68,000 crore. Of the tax revenue of about Rs 2.93 trillion, Rs 1.4 trillion would accrue from own resources, while Rs 1.53 trillion would come as the state's share in the central taxes.

According to the UP Budget 2019-20, tabled in the state legislature on February 7, 2019, the state government has estimated a revenue of Rs 77,640 crore from State GST (SGST) and VAT, while excise kitty has been pegged at Rs 31,517 crore.

The Budget had projected total expenditure of Rs 4.79 trillion, including Rs 3.64 trillion and Rs 1.15 trillion under revenue and capital heads, respectively. It reflected receipts of Rs 4.7 trillion, including Rs 3.91 trillion and Rs 79,000 crore by way of revenue and capital receipts, respectively.

Earlier, CM Adityanath had directed the UP commercial tax department to take strict action against bogus firms operating in the state. Till June, the enforcement wing of the department had identified nearly 317 bogus companies/trading firms, while first information reports (FIR) had been lodged in 45 cases.