Telangana reported huge jump in tax revenue, state tells CAG
Hyderabad: The Telangana state government reported a significant increase in its tax revenue for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25, with collections rising by over Rs 3,600 crore compared to the same period last year. The state's tax revenue reached Rs 34,609 crore in the April-June quarter, according to the income and expenditure report submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The state received no grants from the Centre during this period. This comes as a significant shortfall, as the state government had estimated receiving Rs 21,636 crore in grants-in-aid from the Centre for the entire fiscal year, averaging Rs 1,800 crore per month.
Consequently, the state anticipated Rs 5,400 crore in grants for the first quarter, but none was released by the Centre.
In total, the state government has seen an inflow of Rs 48,790 crore during the first quarter, which included Rs 13,171 crore raised through loans. Of this amount, Rs 45,320 crore was spent, highlighting the state's substantial financial outlay during the quarter.
The state collected the highest amount from GST, Rs 12,536 crore, followed by VAT of Rs 8,202 crore. Additionally, the state earned Rs 4,785 crore through excise on liquor, Rs 3,449 crore from property registrations, and Rs 3,635 crore as the state's share in Central taxes. Non-tax revenue contributed Rs 1,000 crore, while other taxes brought in Rs 1,998 crore.
On the expenditure side, the government spent nearly Rs 6,000 crore on interest payments and Rs 11,026 crore on employee salaries. A further Rs 6,058 crore was allocated to capital expenditure. The primary deficit for the quarter stood at Rs 7,237 crore, the fiscal deficit at Rs 13,000 crore and the revenue deficit at Rs 3,652 crore.