New Delhi: Delhi government`s revenue collection on liquor sale has registered an impressive 19 per cent growth in the first six months of the current fiscal as compared to the corresponding period in 2011-12.
The government has collected Rs 1,287 crore as excise tax between April 1 and September 27 against its collection of Rs 1,102 crore in the same period in 2010-11.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who also holds the finance portfolio, in her budget speech had set a target of collecting Rs 3,000 crore from liquor sale in 2012-13. Revenue department officials said they are confident of meeting the target.
The government had collected Rs 2,300 crore from excise tax in 2011-12, which was an increase of Rs 373 crore from the previous year`s collection of Rs 2,027 crore.
Revenue collection on liquor sale has seen a significant rise in the past nine years as the government`s total collection was merely Rs 560 crore in 2000-01.
In 2001-02, the collection rose to Rs 606 crore while in 2002-2003, the government earned Rs 725 crore through sale of liquor.
Excise tax, which constitutes over 10 per cent of the city government`s total annual revenue collection, had registered an impressive growth in 2005-06 as a total of Rs 1,015 crore was collected in that fiscal.
The upward trend in excise collection continued as the government collected Rs 1,147 crore and Rs 1,295 crore in 2006-07 and 2007-08, respectively.
The revenue collection through liquor sale rose significantly after government made it mandatory in 2010 to put bar codes in liquor bottles to plug loopholes in revenue generation.
As per official figure, government has collected Rs 124 crore as luxury tax in the last six months against Rs 114 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The government had set a target of collecting Rs 325 crore from luxury tax in the current fiscal.
The collection from entertainment tax between April and September has been estimated at Rs 62 crore as against Rs 43 crore in the first six months of 2011-12. In the budget, the government had estimated a collection of Rs 67 crore as entertainment tax in 2012-13.
PTI
