Officials failing to meet commercial tax collection will be held accountable: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday warned that officials failing to meet the commercial tax collection targets will be held accountable.

During a review meeting chaired by him to discuss the progress of commercial tax collection, he emphasised it must not fall short under any circumstances.

The state has set a commercial tax collection target of Rs 1,10,000 crore for 2024-25.

As of October end, Rs 58,773 crore has been collected, comprising GST of Rs 44,783 crore, Karnataka Sales Tax of Rs 13,193 crore and Professional Tax of Rs 797 crore, the CM’s office said.

The state has achieved 53.5 per cent of the target so far. Compared to the same period last year, the collection has increased by Rs 5,957 crore, it said, adding that to meet the yearly target by March, Rs10,200 crore per month needs to be collected over the next five months.

Siddaramaiah stressed the need for coordinated efforts, saying, “achieving the target is essential for the state’s development.” He announced that he would conduct monthly reviews and reiterated that any official not meeting the target will be held accountable.

The CM further noted that the ‘Karasamadhana’ scheme is expected to bring in an additional Rs 2,000 crore.

Later reviewing the Excise Department’s tax collection, Siddaramaiah instructed the department to take strict measures to prevent illegal liquor smuggling from Goa and meet the March deadline for the target.

He warned that any complaints of corruption within the department will be dealt with firmly.

The excise tax collection target for 2024-25 is Rs 38,525 crore. As of October 28, the department has collected Rs 20,237 crore, achieving 52.53 per cent of the target.

This year’s collections are Rs1,301.15 crore higher than the same period last year, the CMO said.