The report also found arrears totalling ₹28,258.39 crore that year, which amounted to 24.23 percent of the total revenue of the state.
Published Sep 15, 2023 | 2:36 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 15, 2023 | 2:36 PM
The report was filed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). (Sourced)
A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Kerala’s revenue sector for the financial year 2021-22 has found that the state’s revenue collection had decreased by 10 percent from what it was in 2017-18, while the receipts from the Centre had increased.
The report, tabled in the Assembly on Thursday, 14 September, said that during the year 2021-22, the revenue collected by the state government decreased to 59 percent from 69 percent in 2017-18.
At the same time, it said the receipts from the Centre increased to 41 percent that year from 31 percent in 2017-18.
The report also said that even though the revenue raised by the state government during the year 2021-22 shows an increase from the previous year of 2020-21, the percentage of revenue raised by it to the total revenue receipts has reduced when compared with that of financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20.
“The revenue receipts of the state increased by ₹19,023.41 crore during 2021-22, compared to 2020-21. This was mainly due to an increase in own tax revenue by ₹10,679.68 crore, followed by the state’s share of union taxes and duties by ₹6,259.69 crore,” it said.
The non-tax revenue of the state saw an increase in 2021-22, mainly due to the increase in the receipts under the head state lotteries by ₹2,261.92 crore, the report said.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection also increased from ₹20,028.31 crore in 2020-21 to ₹24,169.81 crore in 2021-22 due to an increase in sales turnover of goods and services, it said.
However, that same year, the revenue collection under the State Excise decreased by ₹489.17 crore from ₹2,521.40 crore in 2018-19 (pre-Covid period) to ₹2,032.23 crore.
Furthermore, the report also found arrears totalling ₹28,258.39 crore that year which amounted to 24.23 percent of the total revenue of the state.
The CAG report said, “This necessitates urgent intervention from the government to clear the outstanding arrears. The arrear figures are furnished by the departments every year only at the instance of audit.”
“The absence of prompt reporting of arrears to Revenue Department and tardy pursuance by the departments concerned for realising the arrears are the main reasons for the huge pendency of arrears,” it further said.
Besides that, the growth rate of revenue collection under Land Revenue also saw a sharp decline from 48.41 percent in 2020-21 to (-) 4.56 percent in 2021-22, it said.
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