U.P. govt mops up over

The Uttar Pradesh government has earned higher tax and non-tax revenue in the first six months of 2024-25 vis-a-vis the previous financial year, collecting tax revenue of ₹98,886.75 crore from April 1 to September 30, 2024.
Its tax revenue earnings were 76.5 per cent of the target for the period and 11.1 per cent up from the collections made in the same period in 2023-24.
Minister for finance Suresh Khanna said the state government’s earnings from state taxes were ₹55,132.88 crore (72.8 per cent of the target) during the period and these included ₹40,799.49 crore from Goods and Services Tax (GST) and ₹14,333.48 crore from Value Added Tax (VAT).
Other main tax revenue earners for the state government included excise with collections of ₹22,564.29 crore (85 per cent of the target) from this head. It earned ₹14,832.44 crore (85 per cent of the target) from stamps and registration, ₹5299.70 crore (92.4 per cent of the target) from transport, ₹854.26 crore (29.6 per cent of the target) from energy and ₹203.18 crore (47.1 per cent) from land revenue.
The state government’s non-tax revenue earnings during the period were ₹5084.34 crore. This was 45.1 per cent of the target and 9.5 per cent up from the revenue earnings from non-tax sources made in 2023-24.
Khanna said the state government’s revenue earnings went up by ₹908.56 crore from ₹13,839.37 crore in September 2023 to ₹14,747.93 crore in the same month in 2024. He said the state government earned ₹6108.27 crore against ₹5108.04 crore from the GST in the same month last year. Its earnings from VAT went up from ₹2297.26 crore in September 2023 to ₹2356.29 crore in the same month in 2024.
The state government’s earnings from excise, stamps and registration and transport, however, came down marginally in September 2024 against the collections made in the same month last year. It earned ₹3246.67 crore in 2024-25 from ₹3253.37 crore in 2023-2024. The earnings from stamps and registration were down from ₹2177.34 crore to ₹2182.96 crore while the earnings from transport came down from ₹785.72 crore to ₹653.80 crore.
About the reasons for lesser earnings under these heads, Khanna said the people refrain from doing new things and buying property during Pitra Paksha (fortnight to remember ancestors) and this was the reason for lesser collections under this head. Khanna, however, did not give any reasons for lesser earnings under exercise and transport heads though this may be true for these heads too.