State Govt. targets record Rs 10k-cr VAT collection during 2010-11.

Present government is set to double VAT collection from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore within three years whereas excise collection had reached Rs 2,500 crore from Rs 1,500 crore and was expected to cross Rs 3,000 crore next year, states deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal told FE.

Repudiating the assertions by former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh about the poor fiscal state of Punjab, the deputy chief minister said with better economic planning the state was making rapid strides on the development front.

Punjabs excise and taxation commissioner A Venu Prasad claimed, The excise and taxation department has already collected Rs 4,973.18 crore, which is Rs 1,224.24 crore more than last year. He said going by the pace of collection and growth witnessed, the department was sure that the collection would cross Rs 10,000 crore land mark easily.

He informed the department would appoint 118 new inspectors next year and the matter to appoint 74 new ETOs has been sent to the Public Service Commission.

However, Punjab continues to be under a huge debt,which was pegged at Rs 64,924 crore by March 31, 2010. The figure has reached Rs 71,000 crore by now, according to sources. What further poses as a major challenge to the managers of Punjabs economy is the huge loss being incurred by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

The only silver lining lies in the fact that there is good jump in Valued Added Tax (VAT) collection and growth in agriculture which despite floods and heavy rains registered a growth rate of 3.42% last fiscal. It is more than double the national growth rate of 1.8%. This figure is projected to reach 3.74% in 2010-11.

Coupled with good show in VAT collection, and what deputy CM calls better economic planning, the state was sure to make rapid strides on the development front.