Bhubaneswar: Odisha recorded a collection of Rs 3615 crore as goods and services tax (GST) in July this year, which is 54 per cent growth compared to the 2,348 crore collected in July 2020.
This GST growth rate of Odisha is the second highest amongst all major states in India after Maharashtra, the Commissionerate of Commercial Tax and GST, Cuttack said in a release.
Odisha had registered the highest-ever gross collection of GST to the tune of Rs 3,849 crore during April this year.
The progressive GST collection till July 21 this year was Rs 13,661 crore as against Rs 7540 crore till July 20 with a growth of 81 per cent. The corresponding collection till July 19 was Rs 10513 crore.
The progressive collection of the Odisha GST (OGST) up to July this year was Rs 3880 crore as against the collection of Rs 2354 crore up to July last year, recording a progressive growth of 65 per cent. The corresponding figure till July 2019 was Rs 3023 crore.
The total e-waybill generated during July this year was Rs 14.43 lakh against 11.23 lakh during July last year witnessing a growth of 28 per cent.
This growth during July this year is a result of better compliance by the dealers having turnover of more than Rs 5 crore during the previous year as well as QRMP (Quarterly Return Filing and Monthly Payment) dealers filing returns for the quarter ending June this year.
Besides, the increase in the collection is also due to the rise in commodity prices in iron and steel as well as the mining sector and collection from matured GST demand made by the tax officers after the return scrutiny.
This is also a result of regular follow up by the tax officials as well as closer scrutiny of returns filed by the dealers and enforcement measures undertaken by the Commercial tax organization.
The total collection of VAT (petrol and liquor) is Rs 824.53 crore during July this year as against Rs 611.36 crore during July last year with a growth rate of 34.86 per cent.
Out of the above, collection from petroleum products is Rs 674.53 crore during July this year as against Rs 501.36 crore during July last year with a growth rate of 34.54 per cent.
Similarly, the collection from liquor is Rs 150.01 crore during July this year as against Rs 110.43 crore during July last year with a growth rate of 36.36 per cent.
The Commercial Tax and GST organization has been focusing on increasing the tax base of GST with regular surveys and registration. In this process, 9386 new registrants have been brought under the GST during the current financial year.
During the recent review with tax officials of the central and state government, Finance & Excise minister Niranjan Pujari has directed them to focus on improving the return filing status of the dealers, plug leakages by detecting tax evasions and taking expeditious action against them, use technology to improve monitoring and bring the eligible dealers under the tax net by conducting surveys effectively.
Tax officials were also instructed to facilitate genuine tax payers and ensure that they are not unnecessarily harassed.