Finance Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma presents Rs 1249.50-crore deficit Budget

Finance Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma presents Rs 1249.50-crore deficit Budget

* No new tax proposals * Innovative revenue-generating measures to end corruption

“No matter what our backgrounds, beliefs and aspirations are, we all cherish and love Assam. Living on this land of our concerns, we are closely connected, sharing joys and sorrows. This is our home which allows diversity and freedom of development. Even if we are striving for different goals, we can work together to put aside our differences, make room for resolving conflicts, and drive Assam forward to make true her tryst with destiny!” Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Finance Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday presented the Rs 1249.50-crore deficit State Budget for the financial year 2020-21 in the Assembly and asserted that the government tried its level best to please all people living in Assam through the Budget.

Despite presenting a deficit budget the State Government has not introduced any new tax proposals. Rather the budget has slashed taxes in certain areas and focused more on the issue of social security.

The budget estimates of 2020-21 show a receipt of Rs. 105245.23 crore under the Consolidated Fund of the State. Out of this, Rs. 91930.80 crore is on revenue account and the remaining Rs. 13315.43 crore is under capital account. After adding the receipt of Rs. 177048.16 crore under public account, the aggregate receipts amount to Rs. 282294.39 crore. As against this, total expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State in 2020-21 is estimated at Rs.103761.63 crore of which Rs. 82776.98 crore is on revenue account and Rs. 20984.65 crore is on capital account. Taking into account the expenditure of Rs. 176598.66 crore under public account, the aggregate expenditure for the year is estimated at Rs. 280360.29 crore. Thus, estimated transactions during the year will result in an estimated surplus of Rs. 1934.10 crore. This, together with the opening deficit of Rs. 3183.60 crore, will lead to a budget deficit of Rs. 1249.50 crore at the end of the year 2020-2021.

“No matter what our backgrounds, beliefs and aspirations are, we all cherish and love Assam. Living on this land of our concerns, we are closely connected, sharing joys and sorrows. This is our home which allows diversity and freedom of development. Even if we are striving for different goals, we can work together to put aside our differences, make room for resolving conflicts, and drive Assam forward to make true her tryst with destiny!,” Dr Sarma said while making his budget statement in the Assembly on Friday afternoon.

Dr Sarma said the House will be happy to note that there are no new tax proposals in the budget. “If fact, the matter that is most gratifying to me is that despite rapid increase in the expenditures, there are no enhancements of tax rates. In fact, we have abolished the taxes for certain items like Specified Land Cess in a phased manner. We have also kept in abeyance the levy & payment of tax on green tea leaves under the Assam Taxation (On Specified Land) Act, 1990 for a period of 3 years till December 31, 2021. This has been possible because of our drive against ‘Durneeti’ (corruption) and constant focus on revenue enhancement,” he said.

Highlighting proposed revenue generation measures by different departments, Dr Sarma told the Assembly that the Excise department’s revenues have nearly doubled since 2015-16, when the department collected only Rs 820 crore. He said the department has set the target of collecting Rs 1,800 crore in 2019-20. “This is a testimony to our commitment to break free from ‘dependency syndrome’ and our unstinted focus on reforms and curtailing leakages,” he said.

Vowing to enhance more revenue collection by the Excise department in future, Dr Sarma said introducing reforms in licensing system, put in place a robust system for control and regulation of the premises licensed for distillation, manufacture, storage and vend by wholesale and retail of liquor in order to check and minimize the probability of tax evasion and revenue leakages, are some of the initiatives being take up.

“We have rationalized the excise duty structure based on the segment-wise consumption pattern and market potential within the State as well as the prevailing duty structure in the neighbouring States to help the State Government to optimize revenue collection,” the Finance minister said.

Dr Sarma said illegal mining not only violates the environmental laws but also leads to revenue loss. He said with an aim to prevent such loss measures will be introduced to collect royalty at the consumption point based on the Bill of Quantities in respect of Public Works. Rule 5 of the AMMC Rules, 2013 will be amended and ‘Zero T.P.’ method will be introduced.

About revenue enhancement measures in the transport department, Sarma said online test will be introduced for people applying for driving license for the first time. The online test will be followed by driving test which will be conducted by individuals ‘empanelled as MVI’ by the Transport department. These individuals will be selected after a comprehensive selection process from a pool of candidates comprising retired MVIs and others performing similar roles. This initiative, Dr Sarma said, in a single stroke, will not just expand the supply of vehicle inspectors, but also reduce the scope of corruption.

“We will also launch a ‘Tatkal’ scheme through which people can apply and obtain driving license in a fast-track mode for a higher fee without compromising on quality,” Dr Sarma said.

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