Goa's commercial tax department expects to achieve the target of Rs 1,450-crore revenue collection for the current financial year despite the first quarter indicating negative trend.
"Our target is Rs 140 crore more than the collection for the last financial year. Year 2008-09 saw tax revenue collection at Rs 1,310 crore, State Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Vallabh Kamat said.
The state's finances witnessed uneasy first quarter of the current fiscal as the tax revenue dipped to the tune of Rs 29 crore from the targeted figure.
There are several factors that would account for the lower-than-expected collection in the April-June quarter. But that should not reflect on the overall projection for the financial year, he added.
Kamat conceded that closure of Goa's major industrial unit, Zuari Industries, in April and May, owing to deficiency in water supply, deprived the state of Rs 14 crore which otherwise would have come to the exchequer in the form of entry tax on imported naphtha.
The varying petrol and diesel prices also affected value-added tax (VAT) collection. The fuel prices were low compared to April to June months last year. The diesel and petrol prices cut into the state's finances to the tune of Rs 4-5 crore, he informed.
The state received a sort of bonus last year in the form of revenue from Goa Shipyard, which paid Rs 8 crore to the government when it sold a vessel during the first quarter, Kamat said.
The commissioner admitted that slowdown in the tourism sector, the lifeline of Goa's economy, deprived the state of Rs 4-5 crore.
There was less tourist inflow during Lok Sabha election period (April-May), which drastically affected the luxury tax and VAT collection, he added.
There was less consumption of food items and demand for accommodation was also low in the first three months of 2009-10, Kamat shared.
