GUWAHATI: The Assam excise
department has made a record collection of Rs 245
crore in December, up from Rs 135 crore in December last year. Excise duty forms one of the the biggest revenue earning sources of the state.
An official statement from the department stated that the despite Covid-19-induced lockdown for almost three months, the department has been able to collect Rs 1,450 crore till December, 2020, which is 18% more than last year.
“It has been possible because of several reforms undertaken by the excise department. The department is targeting to collect more than Rs 2,000 crore in this financial year. With
VAT on liquor, which is also collected by the excise department, the total revenue collection is expected to be around Rs 3,300 crore,” the statement said.
Prior to 2016, the annual revenue earning from the excise department was between Rs 500 and 600 crore. After plugging the loopholes, revenue earning has been rising at the rate of around 20% annually and in 2019-20, the
excise revenue rose to Rs 1,700 crore against a budget projection of Rs 1,430 crore.
“The continuous rise in excise revenue collection has been possible because of the effective steps taken by excise minister
Parimal Suklabaidya to plug all loopholes,” an official said.