Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who holds finance portfolio on Friday presented the 2017-18 annual budget of Rs.16,021 crores with a revenue surplus of Rs.202.48 crores.
The budget which spared common man from any additional levies revised the fees for enewal of cainos license, their annual recurring fees and doubled fees for transfer of licenses from Rs.10 crores, and made beer marginally costly by enhancing the Excise duty on the beer manufactured in the State or imported.While declining to tinker with the rates of various commercial taxes, the State budget proposed to withdraw the scheme of collection of entry fee on vehicles entering the State, moment the GST would be implemented from July 1.
The budget stated that the State’s Commercial Taxes department was fully geared for introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Goa being a consumption State, where in services play a major role, Mr. Parrikar anticipated that the tourist State will gain from GST.
Mr. Parrikar, in his budget speech recalled that since five years the State had maintained the promise that prices of petrol would not cross Rs.60 per litre. He felt it was time to review this measure and in view of enchanced spending and provisions for existing and various new initaitiaves he increased the value added tax (VAT) on motor spirit to 15 per cent but ensuring that the rate would be in the range of Rs.65 per litre.As a measure to promote airlines to connect Goa with small towns under the regional connectivity scheme of the Centre, which in turn would promote tourism, Mr. Parrikar proposed to reimburse VAT on aviation turbine fuel, in excess of 01 per cent.
As a green initiative the government has also exempted from VAT on the sale of electric vehicles and the vehicles also will be exempted from motor vehicle tax.
In a relief to the mineral ore industry, the government proposed to allow input tax credit on sale of mineral ore.
Mr. Parrikar reduced the export fee on beer to 50 paise per bulk litre.
Responding to the pleas of the sellers of high-end vehicles to reduce the high registration fee, the government rationalised the registration fee by categorising the dealers as per their share capital and making slabs according to price of the high-end vehicles.
The government also lifted the moratorium on registration of rent-a-bike or two-wheeler taxis.
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