The State’s tax revenue dipped to ₹59,221.24 crore in 2020-21 from ₹66,724.19 crore in 2019-20, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report detailing the State’s annual accounts for 2020-21, giving an indication of how COVID-19 impacted State finances that year.
The State's own tax revenue slipped from ₹50,323.14 crore in 2019-20 to ₹47,660.84 crore in 2020-21, and non-tax revenue from ₹12,265.22 crore to ₹7,327.31 crore, according to the report tabled in the State Assembly. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) decreased by 7.94% between 2019-20 and 2020-21, while revenue receipts increased by 8.19%. Total revenue receipts stood at ₹97,616.83 crore which included grants-in-aid and contributions to the tune of ₹31,068.28 crore.
State GST collection dips
Revenue expenditure increased from ₹1,04,719.92 crore to ₹1,23,446.33 crore (17.89%) between 2019-20 and 2020-21. The fiscal deficit stood at 5.4% of GSDP in 2020-21, it noted. In 2020-21, the State Goods and Services Tax collection was ₹20,028.31 crore compared to ₹20,446.95 crore in 2019-20, registering a decrease of ₹418.64 crore (2.05%).
In the report on the 2020-21 Finance Accounts, the CAG also noted “off-budget borrowings” of ₹669.05 crore through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and ₹8,604.19 crore through Kerala Social Security Pension Ltd. (KSSPL). These liabilities were in addition to the Budget liabilities of ₹3,08,386.01 crore as on March 31, 2021, the CAG noted.
