The Delhi government will set up a dedicated Tax Policy and Revenue Augmentation Unit (TPRAU) to identify revenue growth opportunities, detect leakages, and help in policy formulation, finance minister Kailash Gahlot announced while presenting the ₹78,800-crore Budget 2023-24 in the Delhi assembly on Wednesday.
Budget 2023-24, Gahlot said, will mostly be financed from the state government’s own resources, including ₹53,565 crore from tax revenue — which consists of ₹7,365 crore (14%) from state excise, ₹37,200 crore (69%) from goods and services tax (GST) and value added tax (VAT), ₹6,000 crore (11%) from stamps and registration, and ₹3,000 crore (6%) from taxes on motor vehicles.
In the fiscal year, the state government collected ₹30,283.62 crore (up to February 2023) in GST and VAT, an increase of 24.22% over the previous financial year.
Gahlot did not give details of the composition or mandate of TRPAU, but he said that the Aam Aadmi Party government was able to boost tax revenue due to the several measures, including monitoring monthly performance in tax collection, using GST Analytics and Intelligence Network (GAIN)/ Business Intelligence and Fraud Analytics (BIFA) and GST Portal to analyse and impose anti-evasion activities.
The government has also activated enforcement teams on its borders to check unauthorised entry of vehicles, violation of GST provisions and impounding them, the minister said. A detailed action-taken report, however, was not available.
The trade and taxes department has also made e-invoicing mandatory for taxpayers, who have an aggregate turnover exceeding ₹10 crore, Gahlot said. “Regular analysis and follow up of top 200 taxpayers of each tax ward is being done,” the minister said, adding that the government was conducting outreach programmes with trade associations to increase the tax base by adding eligible taxpayers.
Listing measures to check the leakages in tax collection, the minister said the Delhi government has established a cell to collect information about fake firms.
In addition, a software application has been developed and made operational since January to generate a document identification number (DIN), which is a unique number used for authentication of documents issued by the tax department and for enabling taxpayers to check the authenticity of the letters/orders, the finance minister said.
Talking about excise revenue, a sector that has become controversial of late in view of allegations of corruption in the implementation of 2021-22 liquor policy, Gahlot said that the government is committed to augmenting revenue while regulating the commodity in a more effective manner to check illicit liquor trade. In this regard, the government is strengthening the Excise Intelligence Bureau, Gahlot added.
“The government has restored the excise duty-based regime from September 1, 2022. The hospitality industry (hotels, clubs and restaurants) is a significant contributor towards the improvement of the state’s overall economy by providing employment, tax generation and promoting tourism. The government is working on developing new technology to enhance and upgrade the existing mechanism of liquor supply management,” Gahlot said.
In 2023-24 the government intends to generate ₹7,365 crore (14%) revenue from state excise, he added.