CHANDIGARH: Despite the adverse Covid-19 circumstances, Haryana’s Excise Department has set a new record in tax collection in the last six months. The department has collected Rs 660 crore more revenue in 2020 than in the previous year.
Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the portfolio of the Excise and Taxation Department, had issued a new excise policy in March. However, following the nationwide lockdown on 23 March 2020, the policy could not be implemented. Generally, the old policy runs till the end of the financial year, i.e. 31 March, and the new policy comes into effect from 1 April. This time the new policy started on 6 May 2020. The department made the figures for the first quarter i.e. from 6 May 2020 to 19 August 2020 and the second quarter from 19 August 2020 to 18 November 2020, public.
In the six months from 6 May 2020 to 18 November 2020, the department collected revenue of Rs 660 crore more as compared to the corresponding six months of the previous year. It is believed that the Excise Department will not only meet the target of raising revenue of Rs 7,500 crore mentioned in the new policy, but this time about 25 percent more revenue can be raised. This may be considered a good sign in the Covid-19 period.
In the first quarter i.e. from 6 May 2020 to 19 August 2020, the Excise Department collected a total revenue of Rs 2391 crore 47 lakh 34 thousand 93. In the first quarter last year, this amount was Rs 2142 crore 86 lakh 39 thousand 751. That is, this time an additional Rs 248 crore 60 lakh 94 thousand 342 was raised. Similarly, from the second quarter i.e. 19 August 2020 to 18 November 2020, a total of Rs 1773 crore 19 lakh 9 thousand 367 has been collected. In the second quarter last year, this amount was Rs 1361 crore, 6 lakh 87 thousand 836. That is, in the second quarter this year, additional Rs 412 crore revenue was collected than the previous year. Looking at this collection, the department is now assuming that there will be another collection of about Rs 5,000 crore in the next two quarters i.e. six months. In such a situation, the total revenue can reach around Rs 9,000 crore.
