Bengal suffers Rs 4,000cr revenue loss in April amid lockdown: Report
The state is expected to witness high revenue loss inMay as the lockdown with some relaxations in economicactivities has been extended to contain the coronavirusoutbreak, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) analyst AnuradhaBasumatari said.
"In April, the West Bengal government's estimatedrevenue loss under state GST is Rs 1,517 crore, state VAT Rs436 crore, state excise Rs 969 crore, stamp duty andregistration Rs 521 crore, vehicle tax Rs 220 crore,electricity duty Rs 214 crore and own non-tax revenue Rs 302crore," the analyst said.
The total revenue loss for the state government isestimated at Rs 4,179 crore in April, Basumatari said.
The report, prepared by the Ind-Ra, also pegged "therevenue loss for the 21 major states in April alone at Rs97,100 crore".
Officials of the West Bengal finance departmentwere worried about the revenue loss that is expected tocontinue in May.
The government was expecting to garner some revenueafter resumption of liquor sales during the third phase of thelockdown, they said.
Liquor sales were also affected due to lack of stock,an official said, adding that the government mopped up aroundRs 40 crore from the liquor sales worth Rs 130 crore till May6.
The state power department's revenue collection hasalso fallen significantly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
The state government has undertaken a slew ofausterity measures to deal with the present economic crisistriggered by the lockdown.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hadrecently said that state has lost Rs 12,000 crore in the lasttwo months in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
A short term plan would be implemented by injecting Rs1.52 lakh crore financial stimulus into the state's economy,with special focus on rural sector and MSMEs, she had said.
According to her, the key to revival of the state'seconomy lies in strengthening the infrastructure of ruralBengal.
During a recent video conference with the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, the chief minister had urged him toclear dues of about Rs 53,000 crore from the Centre. BSMPNTBDC BDC