Karnataka doing well despite slowdown: CM Yediyurappa

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is also the finance minister, on Wednesday asserted that Karnataka, despite the slowdown in the economy, is in a better position compared to other states.

Yediyurappa, in a statement he issued after reviewing the government’s tax collection effort so far this fiscal, said GST registrations in the state had seen a 100% jump from 4.51 lakh during the rollout of the new tax regime to 8.16 lakh now. GST collections have gone up by 14.3%, he said.

For 2019-20, the commercial taxes department has a target of Rs 76,046 crore, of which Rs 33,618 crore have been collected so far, which is 20% more than the receipts in the corresponding period last year.

So far, over 64,000 GST licences in the state have been revoked for non-remittances, Yediyurappa said. “I have directed officials to identify cases of evading GST and take strict action,” he said.

Excise revenue is on par fixed targets. “Against the target of Rs 20,950 crore, we have collected Rs 9,145.36 crore from April 1 till August 30. I’m confident that the target will be met by the end of the (fiscal) year,” he said.

Yediyurappa, however, expressed some concern with the transport department’s revenues. “The total target is Rs 7,100 crore of which we had to collect Rs 2,750 till August 30. But we have managed Rs 2,476 crore. Due to a fall in vehicles sales, revenue from registration of vehicles has dipped by 10.34%. But we expect the situation to improve after October,” the chief minister said.

The stamps and registration department has mopped up Rs 4,620 crore out of the targeted Rs 11,828 crore, with a rise in property registrations in Bengaluru by 3.86%. “That various services have been made online has helped mop up more revenue,” Yediyurappa said.

Likewise, mines and geology department is poised to achieve its target of Rs 3,550 crore by the end of the fiscal.

Supplementary budget

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is expected to present a supplementary budget in October, but he is undecided on whether or not he should announce new schemes or programmes. The finance department has advised the chief minister that making new announcements will be impractical as the government will have to table a fresh budget early next year anyway. So, he may choose to go ahead with the budget presented by the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition. After forming the government, the BJP got the Appropriation Bill passed in the legislature with a vote-on-account till October 31.