Bhubaneswar: With a gross GST collection of Rs 44,334.67 crore in the financial year 2021-22, Odisha has registered a growth of 49 percent which is highest among all the major states in the country.
It was Rs 29,852.76 crore during 2020-21 as revealed from a review made by the Commissioner of CT & GST, Sushil Kumar Lohani.
While OGST collection for financial year 2021-22 was Rs 12,743.01 crore, in 2020-21 it was Rs 8292.15 crore, hence a growth rate of 54 per cent, said Mr.Lohani.
There was also good growth of 28 per cent in collection of VAT (Petrol and Liquor) and 11 per cent under Profession Tax during FY 21-22 vis-à-vis 20-21, he further said.
Mr.Lohani has asked the GST Circles which have failed to meet targets during 2021-22 to improve tax collection during the current financial year.
Lohani took an annual review of all Circles and Ranges under the CT & GST organization on April 18 and 19 here. Apart from reviewing the annual performance of Circles for FY 21-22 he held elaborate discussion on the Action Plan for FY 22-23.
The Commissioner lauded the performance of all the State officers in achieving the highest growth rate amongst all States for FY 21-22.
Commissioner noted that the major growth centers during 21-22 were Barbil Circle, Jajpur Circle, Angul Circle, Bhubaneswar-II and Bhubaneswar-III Circles and Rourkela-I Circles.
Other Circles such as Jharsuguda, Rourkela-II, Bhadrak, Cuttack-II, Keonjhar and Balasore Circles which had fallen short of the target for 2021-22 were asked to increase revenue collection by putting extra efforts through action on EI report, collection of matured demand through attachment, tapping new sources of revenue like sand and stone mining lessees etc.
The Commissioner emphasized that it is the major work of all CTO and Additional CTOs to take action against big non-filers, dealers mentioned in EI Reports and collection from adjudication.
Based on data analytics, Commissioner’s office had recently sent a list of late filers having huge interest liability. Rs 36 crore of interest was collected during 2021-22 and major Circles who have performed well are Bhubaneswar-I, Bhubaneswar-II, Bhubaneswar-III, Bhubaneswar- IV Circles, Keonjhar Circle, Rourkela-II and Jharsuguda Circles.
Further, Rs. 479 crore was collected during 2021-22 out of adjudication arising from non-filing of returns, wrong filing of returns and fake invoice. Major collections have been made from Jajpur, Angul, Cuttack-I Central, Bhubaneswar-III and Barbil Circles, officials said.
An important step for pursuing all aspects of revenue collection undertaken during 2021-22 was collection of data from Tahasils regarding payment of tax by sand/ stone mining lessees.
All Circles were instructed to take prompt action in this regard and ensure registration and payment of tax by all sand/ stone mining lessees.
The Work Plan for FY 2022-23 containing actions on GST & Non-GST activities were discussed in detail. Major activities proposed to be undertaken during 2022- 23 include drive for survey and post registration enquiry, non-filer management to ensure 90% return filing within due date, return scrutiny of top files of each Circle as well as taking action on all data sent after data analytics by Economic Intelligence Section, prompt disposal of GST refund cases, pursuing collection of Profession Tax and arrears of Entry Tax, etc.
Commissioner Mr.Lohani instructed all field officers to pay heed to the genuine grievances of the taxpayers, especially those visiting the MoSarkar Cells which are now functional in all field offices.
He also said that by following the principles of 5T & Action Plan for 22-23, we will be able to achieve the target for the current Financial Year.