Chief Minister Revanth Reddy directed officials of revenue-generating departments to work hard to achieve their annual targets and emphasised the need for implementing steps to increase revenue. Officials were warned to act strictly to prevent tax evasion in all departments. The Chief Minister suggested that all departments must prepare monthly targets aligned with annual goals and consistently review their progress. The CM stressed the importance of transparency regarding revenue sources and tax collections. He directed officials to consider restructuring departments if necessary and to implement as many reforms as possible to maximise revenue collection. Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat, Chief Minister Revanth expressed concern that the revenue generated until June 2018 was not promising when compared to the set target. He asked officials to set monthly targets to ensure adequate revenue collection as outlined in the Vote-on-Account Budget. Revanth informed officials that he would conduct a review of revenue targets in the first week of every month. In addition to the monthly review, Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka would hold meetings every Friday to review the progress of respective departments. The Chief Minister specifically asked officials to immediately implement measures to increase GST revenue. He instructed Commercial Tax Department officials to conduct field visits and ensure thorough auditing to increase GST collections. Revanth emphasised the importance of strict tax collection without any leniency in GST payments. He suggested exploring the possibility of revising the tax on aviation fuel as an alternative to offset the reduced VAT revenue from petrol and diesel. Despite increased liquor sales during elections, the revenue did not rise proportionately, prompting the CM to seek the reasons behind this discrepancy. Discussions were held on preventing the transport of illegal liquor and curbing non-duty-paid liquor. The Chief Minister asked officials to monitor distilleries to prevent liquor diversion and to use advanced technology for this purpose. The meeting also discussed the favourable environment created for the real estate business in Hyderabad due to development projects like the Regional Ring Road, Metro expansion and the Musi Riverfront Development Project. The Chief Minister noted that these initiatives have boosted both commercial and residence construction.
He observed that land and property rates have significantly increased in the state and recommended steps to enhance revenue from registrations and stamps accordingly. He also directed officials to curb the illegal transport of sand and minerals and to plug leakages. Regarding electric vehicles, the Chief Minister suggested officials should study whether the withdrawal of temporary tax subsidies and subsequent tax collection have impacted sales.
