The national slowdown of economy is having an effect on the Haryana economy for the second year. The state’s collection of Value Added Tax declining by nine per cent during April, compared to the corresponding period last year.

What has saved the day for Haryana is the excise collection, which has shown a healthy growth of 7 per cent over the corresponding period last year, according to sources in the Haryana Excise and Taxation Department.

Registering negative growth for the second month in a row, the collection of VAT for April remained at a low of Rs 574 crore. In the corresponding period last year, the VAT collection was Rs 631 crore, according to the Haryana Excise and Taxation Department.

Talking to The Indian Express, Haryana Excise and Taxation Commissioner Apoorva Kumar Singh said the revenue collection in the state from tax had registered a negative growth rate of 3.11 per cent, which was disturbing.

However, despite decline in VAT collection, the state was targeting to collect Rs 9,825 crore by the end of the fiscal year 2009-10. Due to the adverse economic scenario, Haryana failed to achieve the targeted VAT collection of Rs 8,100 crore in 2008-09. The actual realisation of the VAT collection in the state for the financial year 2008-09 was Rs 7,129.63 crore, down 12 per cent from the previous year.

The state Excise and Taxation department ascribed the negative growth in VAT collections to the recession, and the slump in demand in the economy. The industrial sector has still not come out of the shock of recession that has resulted in negative growth, according to a senior official of the department.

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