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According
to the latest VAT collection figures, Haryana stands at
number three with 21% growth projections in VAT for 2008-09
in the country, while Andhra Pradesh, with a high growth
rate of 24%, is number one in the country. Bihar stands at
number two with growth of 23% during the previous year.
Punjab, which had a 14% growth in 2007-08, is targeting a
growth of 20% in 2008-09.
Haryana
chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda told FE at his
official residence here on Tuesday that, “Haryana was the
first state in the country to introduce VAT in 2003-04 and
it has been achieving a double figure growth in VAT
collections every year since then. The state has done so
well that for the last five years, it has consistently
touched the 20% growth mark every year.”
Hooda,
who was honoured on Tuesday by various organisations of the
state for his people-friendly decisions, told FE, “Haryana
is the number one state in the country as far as per capita
income is concerned. It also ranks first in terms of per
capita investment. It is fast heading towards becoming a
state with the fastest growth rate of VAT collections per
year”.
The
Punjab government has projected a 20% growth in VAT for the
year 2008-09, at Rs6,290 crore. It was with these
projections in mind that while neighbouring Haryana reduced
VAT on petrol and diesel when prices were hiked, the Punjab
government ruled out reduction on VAT on petrol and diesel
in the state. The present rates of VAT on petrol and diesel
in the state are 27.5 and 8% respectively, the highest among
all the northern states.
In
Chandigarh, the VAT on petrol is 22%. A major portion of VAT
in Punjab comes from petroleum products and last year, of
the total VAT collections, VAT from petrol only accounted
for Rs 1,239 crore, agriculture accounted for Rs 592 crore,
liquor Rs 24 crore, automobiles Rs 497 crore and other
services Rs 2,317 crore.
Finance
department sources said that rampant tax evasion among
traders of the state could be a cause of serious concern for
the government, as it had not witnessed a buoyancy in tax
collections, despite the fact that investment have started
pouring into Punjab in the recent past. The poor
mobilisation of resources can be gauged from the fact that
the state government could collect just Rs 50 crore from
change of land use charges and royalty from non-ferrous
minerals, against the target of Rs 410 crore, which was
fixed in budget for 2007-08. Another cause of worry is that
Punjab is anticipating a growth of only 6.02% from excise
levy on the auctioning of liquor vends at Rs.1,830 crore in
2008-09, compared to Rs1,726 crore in 2007-08. The growth
under this parameter was 26.20% in 2007-08.
Source
: Financial Express - Bombay, India, dated 27/08/2008
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