Statsguru: A decline in growth poses risks to govt's fiscal forecast

While tax collections provided some reprieve, the government seems to be consistently underperforming on the disinvestment side.

Last week, data released by the government showed a slight improvement in the fiscal position in 2020-21. The fiscal deficit decreased to 9.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the earlier envisaged target of 9.5 per cent. The improvement came on the back of higher tax earnings (gross tax revenue) in the last two quarters (chart 1).

A closer look at the tax revenue shows that most of the gains accrued from higher customs and excise duty collection. Customs collections witnessed a 20 per cent increase compared to the revised estimates presented by the