Meghalaya raises its 40 per cent revenue from VAT

Shillong, Sep 29 (UNI) Meghalaya has earned Rs 85.46 crore from tax collection under the Value Added Tax (VAT) from September 1, last year to March 31 this year.

Prior to implementation of VAT, the state received its revenue from tax collection of Rs 56.40 crore.

The tax revenue has seen an increase of 40 per cent after the implementation of VAT, Commissioner of Taxes Jopthiaw Lyngdoh told reporters here yesterday.

In 2005-06, Mr Lyngdoh said the state earned total revenue of Rs 172 crore compared to 2004-05, which amounted to Rs 113 crore.

Elaborating on VAT, he said the main aim of VAT was to ensure a more competitive market, adding that the cost of escalation in the state was because of Central Sales Tax Act.

However, he said that the Union Government is likely to waive the 4 per cent cess by next year.

Mr Lyngdoh added that soon after the introduction of VAT; the Excise duty on liquor was reduced to comply with the norms of the VAT.

In the initial stages, the reduction of Excise duty on liquor has incurred a loss of Rs 6 crore of revenue for the state government, he said while pointing out that after the introduction of VAT the revenue from liquor increased to Rs 13 crore within a span of seven months.

The state government saw a gain of Rs 7 crore and this was a huge increase compared to the revenue collected before implementation of VAT, Mr Lyngdoh said.

UNI RRK KK SBA PM1437