Goa gets Rs 162 crore as share of central taxes

PANAJI: The state’s strained coffers got a slight breather after the Centre released Rs 162 crore as Goa’s share of central taxes and duties, officials said.
The figure, however, is a drop from the Rs 177 crore the state received from the Centre in April.
Finance ministry officials said that despite the drop in the funds, which have been disbursed as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, the Rs 162 crore will help the state meet crucial expenditure requirements.
A finance ministry official said that Goa is entitled to Rs 250 crore from the central government.
“Goa’s share of central revenues is down because collection has gone down,” he said.
As per the 15th finance commission and the Constitutional provisions, each state is entitled to a share of the collections of central excise, income tax, customs duty and other duties and taxes collected by the Centre. Due to the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, the commission recommended that 1% of the divisible pool should be given to J&K and Ladakh, while other states would get 41% of the central taxes.
Officials said that Goa is yet to receive the Rs 750 crore owed to it by the Centre as compensation for the drop in GST collections. Finance department officials said that some central policymakers are averse to borrowing to pay compensation to states during the Covid-19 crisis. Chief minister Pramod Sawant discussed the issue with PM Narendra Modi during a virtual interaction on June 17.
Goa’s finances are stretched due to higher expenditure to combat the novel coronavirus even as the state’s revenues have dried up. The state government has sought Rs 2,000 crores from the Centre besides the transfer of goods and services tax compensation.
Officials said that the Union finance ministry has released the funds to help states tide over the cash flow disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis.