Jammu, Mar 19: Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir will be the best financially managed State of the country within a year, the Minister for Finance,   Abdul Rahim Rather, today said that the element of accountability and transparency at various levels in the finance and its allied departments have started showing discernible results.
Replying to the debate, on the Demand of Grants for the departments under his charge for the financial year 2010-11, in the Legislative Assembly,   Rather said that reforms in the department  have resulted in manifold increase in the tax revenues last year, as compared to the previous years. He said the 13th Finance Commission Award has appreciated the State for considerable improvement in the own tax collection effort.
The Minister dwelt in detail on the funds flow to the State and referred to the three-way mechanism of resource mobilization for running the affairs of the State, which include, mobilizing internal resources in the form of revenue receipts and other local taxes, awards from the Finance Commission and share in Central Taxes and annual plan allocations from the Planning Commission. He said the State gets grants from the Centre under Article-275 of the Indian Constitution from the Finance Commission.
Allaying  apprehensions of some Jammu based Members that more revenue is collected from Jammu while the spending are more in Kashmir, the Minister said from all accounts, the State is a single entity and there is no room for debate as to wherefrom the revenue  gets generated. However, he clarified  and elaborated on the sources from where the taxes are  generated. In this context, he made a mention of the Lakhanpur Toll Plaza, where all the entering entities, bound to Ladakh, Kashmir or Jammu, have to pay the entry and toll taxes. Besides, the corporate headquarters of almost all the commercial and multinational companies, operating in the entire State, are located in Jammu, and as such the taxes thus collected from all the three regions get reflected as revenue of Jammu Division. Moreover, he said, all the three Motor Sprit Companies, selling their products across the State, are also located in Jammu whose tax receipts are also counted in the Jammu Head.  Therefore, an allegation that more tax is collected from Jammu is misleading and distortion of facts, he maintained. Quoting figures for the year 2008-09 in this regard, the Minister said that against a total realization of account of VAT/GST and MST amounting to Rs.1765 crore, e an amount of Rs.480 crore pertains  to Jammu Division and Rs.490 crore pertains to Kashmir- division and Rs. 795 crore have  been collected in Jammu for the whole state.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST