According to the revised budget estimates against its collection of revenue receipts has fallen Rs 4,534 crore short of its target of Rs 78,509 crore.
Punjab has not been able to meet the targets of revenue receipts, the Budget presented by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has indicated.
The state has not set any target of additional resource mobilisation. It is depending on lion’s share of funds for its expenditure in form of share of central taxes worth Rs 14,021 crore, which comprises 26 per cent of receipts and grant-in-aid from Centre worth Rs 30,113 crore, making up for 26 per cent of its receipts.
According to the revised budget estimates against its collection of revenue receipts has fallen Rs 4,534 crore short of its target of Rs 78,509 crore. The collection has been Rs 73,975 crore. It has set a target of Rs 88,004 crore for 2020-21 fiscal.
It has fallen short of Rs 3935 crore in its own tax revenue as the collection has been Rs 33,739 crore against the target of Rs 37,674 crore. The target for 2020-21 fiscal is Rs 35,824 crore. The state’s own tax revenue include GST, VAT, state excise, stamps and registration, taxes on vehicles, electricity duty. While the GST calculation was Rs 13,443 crore against a target of Rs 17,109 crore, there is a shortfall in VAT collections also of about Rs 800 crore. This is being blamed on lowering of the VAT on petrol by Rs 5 per litre last year.
Collection of taxes on vehicles too has been less than the target for which the slump in automobile sector is being blamed.
In state’s own non-tax revenue, the collection has been Rs 1,515 crore less than the target of Rs 9476 crore. The new target is Rs 8,045 crore.
In share of central taxes also the collection has fallen by Rs 2973 crore from an estimate of Rs 13,319 crore. The target is Rs 14,021 crore for 2020-21 fiscal.
Interestingly, the grant in aid from Centre was Rs 3,889 crore more than the target of Rs 18,039 crore. The government has now expecting a receipt of Rs 30,112 crore from grant in aid from centre.
CENTRE’S LARGESSE
The Centre has, after many years included Punjab in the list of 12 states to be given revenue deficit grant. The 15th Finance Commission, in its report, recommended the grant worth Rs 7600 crore to the state.
Also, the Centre has increased Punjab’s share in central tax devolution from 1.577 per cent to 1.788 per cent. This means the state gets Rs 4,000 crore extra as its share in taxes. The state will get Rs 13,000 crore from Centre in the 2020-21 fiscal which means a major respite for the funds crunched state.
SAND MINING
Despite the illegal sand mining continuing unabated, the government has recorded a collection of Rs 306 crore from sand mining auctions. It is an encouraging amount as the previous SAD-BJP government has been collecting Rs 35 crore from sand mines through reverse bidding.
PSPCL IN PROFIT
Amid the controversy that Punjab’s power is costliest in the region with it disbursing every unit for Rs 8.32, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has posted a profit of Rs 80 crore. Manpreet Badal said it was for the first-time in many years. Further, as a result of strict vigilance, the transmission losses have been reduced from 14.46 per cent in 2016-17 to 12.04 per cent in 2018-19.