The State Government on Tuesday said the fall in mining revenue collection would not affect size of Annual Budget for the upcoming 2015-16 fiscal. “There was decrease in mining revenue collection in the State. However, we are trying to meet the target by March 31 to generate more revenue in the sector. Besides, we stand to lose about Rs200 crore of revenue from petroleum products,” said Finance Minister Pradeep Amat after the pre-Budget deliberation held here.
Mining royalty collection, which accounts for a major share in State revenue, came down by about 24 percent in April-November this year against 2013-14 collection in the same period following closure of many mines and court cases. The cut in oil prices in the wake of falling global oil prices has also resulted in a revenue loss even as the State Government has recently hiked VAT by three percent to adjust the revenue deficit.
Focusing on collection of more revenue in the coming budget, Amat said the Government would try to go for amicable settlement with State and Central PSUs and others, which have moved various courts against imposition of taxes. The State Government is also unsure about how much Central assistance it would get for the coming financial year.
“This is the last year of 13th Finance Commission. The first year of 14th Finance Commission will start in 2015-16. The Planning Commission has also been abolished and the NITI Ayog has come up. So, what would be the impact of Central assistance will be only known after the Central Budget. We will accordingly fine tune in a Supplementary Budget,” said Finance Secretary R Balakrishnan.