Bhubaneswar: The nationwide lockdown following Covid-19 outbreak has ruined state economy, if Odisha’s GST collection is any indication. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection has decreased by 50 per cent in first two months of the financial year 2020-21.
The state has collected GST (Odisha GST+ Integrated Goods and Services Tax) to the tune of only Rs 1092.24 crore in April & May of 2020 as against the collection of Rs 2187.02 crore during the corresponding period of previous financial year, official sources said here Monday.
The OGST collection has taken a nosedive by 543.87 per cent whereas the IGST (regular settlement) has dipped by 51.01 per cent during these two months.
The OGST collection has decreased from Rs 1427.17 crore to Rs 801.03 crore during April and May. Similarly, the IGST (regular settlement) collection has fallen down to Rs 291.01 crore from Rs 594.04 crore. The state has received zero in account of IGST (ad-hoc settlement) upto May 2020 as against Rs 165.80 crore it received last year.
Moreover, the state government has got only Rs 2.95 crore as Value Added Tax (VAT) on GST goods. The VAT on non-GST goods has also decreased from Rs 770.51 crore to Rs 318.50 crore in these two months of the current fiscal year, the source said.
As all cinema halls have been closed due to the lockdown, entertainment tax collection was also zero in April. Similarly, professional tax collection has also been decreased by 1.29 per cent in the state during the first two months of the current financial year.
The entry tax increased from Rs 5.16 crore to Rs 6.72 crore, but there is least to cheer about as the amount is very less.
Comparing the tax collection of April and May, the figure has increased slightly. The OGST collection in May 2020 has increased to Rs 440.67 crore from Rs 360.36 crore in April 2020.
The total GST collection has increased to Rs 671.92 crore from Rs 420.12 crore in April. The total VAT collection in the state also increased by nearly Rs 60 crore in May as compared to the previous month, they said.
The Centre has committed to compensate states for loss of revenue after implementation of GST Act. Under the law, if states’ GST revenue does not grow by at least 14 per cent over the base year of 2014-15, the Centre would pay them the difference, on a bi-monthly basis for the first five years of GST implementation. The due amount for the month of April and May was Rs 2443.80 crore, of which the Centre has released Rs 1116 crore, June 4 last. “GST collection decreased in April due to complete lockdown. Revenue collection has drastically come down in the state. Other state governments and the Centre are also suffering due to the pandemic,” said an official.
The situation may remain same for next few months as almost all sectors have suffered huge financial loss due to the disease, he asserted.
