Maharashtra budget: State is owed Rs.1.66 lakh crore in tax, non-tax revenue
Mumbai: Even as the cash-strapped Maharashtra government faces an estimated debt of Rs. 9,32,242 crore for the financial year 2025-26, the highest in the state’s history, the amount of money it is owed from tax and non-tax revenue has accumulated to a whopping Rs. 1.66 lakh crore. That’s over 22% of the state budget.
While presenting the state budget for FY 2025-26 on Monday, finance minister Ajit Pawar announced an amnesty scheme for pending arrears. The government expects tax revenue of around Rs. 8,000 crore from this scheme, with most of the unrealised tax revenue stemming from tax disputes with central government departments and oil marketing companies.
However, even if the government manages to recover the entire Rs. 8,000 crore, which is unlikely, it will account for just over 5.5% of the total unrealised revenue from various taxes— Rs. 1.43 lakh crore. And the amnesty scheme will not apply to non-tax revenue, in which the arrears are the arrears are Rs. 22,746 crore.
Out of the total Rs. 1.43 lakh crore the state is owed from various taxes, Rs. 94,526 crore is from disputed cases that have been pending for several years. This includes Rs. 66,411 crore from sales and value-added tax (VAT) on motor spirits and lubricants, which has been pending since before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017.
The second-highest disputed amount, Rs. 21,519 crore, is from central taxes. The GST Commissionerate has not been able to recover Rs. 48,534 crore despite there being no disputes over the recovery. The state is owed Rs. 37,859 crore from central taxes and sales tax/VAT on spirits and lubricants.
An official from the GST commissionerate said tax disputes pending for years at various levels, including in court, will be liable for the amnesty scheme, which is yet to be fine-tuned and notified.
