Raipur: Chhattisgarh, along with Andhra Pradesh, recorded the highest spike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in October 2020 at Rs 404 crore and Rs 505 crore respectively as compared to last year in the corresponding month.
The two states recorded a spike of 26 per cent this year despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Chhattisgarh recorded a GST collection of Rs 1,974 crore in October 2020 as compared to Rs 1,570 crore in the same month in 2019, Andhra Pradesh collected Rs 2,480 crore and Rs 1,975 crore in the corresponding periods.
“Far-sighted decisions taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to maintain the growth of the state’s economy during the COVID-19 crisis have yielded pleasant results. Even during the lockdown period, the economic activities in rural and forest areas continued,” the Chhattisgarh government said in an official statement on Monday.
Notably, other states and Union Territories like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Dadra and Nagar Haveli recorded an increase of 138 per cent, 72 per cent and 118 per cent of GST collections at Rs 98 crore, Rs 32 crore and Rs 283 crore respectively.
Other states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh recorded a hike of 5 per cent at Rs 15,799 crore and 17 per cent at Rs 2,403 crore, while Gujarat and West Bengal reported 15 per cent increase in the GST collection each at Rs 6,787 crore and Rs 3,738 crore respectively. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala registered 7 per cent increase each at Rs 5,471 crore, Rs 1,010 crore, and Rs 1,665 crore respectively.
The Chhattisgarh government said that payment for crop procurement and employment under MGNREGA during the corona crisis, both have helped in strengthening the rural economy in the state.
“Improvement in the spending power of people has benefited the industrial and commercial sector as well. Meanwhile, the procurement of forest produce by self-help groups also continued. As much as 30 per cent concession was provided on government guideline rates on land transactions to keep the real estate sector active,” the statement said.