Tamil Nadu state interim budget 2024

Tamil Nadu Government presented the interim Budget on 19.02.2024 highlighting major milestones achieved over the century. It is mentioned in the speech that – In the the Budget of 1939-40, the General Sales Tax was introduced in Madras Presidency for the first time in the country, at the rate of 1 per cent, generating a revenue of 439 lakh rupees during its first year, among other development.

From the Budget Speech presented by Thiru. Thangam Thenarasu, Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management, Government of Tamil Nadu, the following relevant to indirect taxation proposals are highlighted below.

Commercial Taxes

183. The Government of Tamil Nadu has introduced the SAMADHAN Scheme aimed at simplifying the process involved in recovery of tax arrears from traders in the State. Under this scheme, long-pending arrears of small traders including taxes, penalties, and interest payment upto Rs. 50,000 have been waived to the tune of Rs. 143 crore.

184. With the objective of increasing revenue realization by the Commercial Tax Department, a Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) has been signed with IIT Hyderabad to identify and combat tax evasion. This collaboration aims to enhance the operational efficiency of the department through implementation of Big Data Analysis solution. Further, a Data Analytics Unit will be established to augment GST revenue and prevent evasion. This unit will be established to facilitate real-time analysis and monitoring supported by technical experts and big data monitoring software at an estimated cost of Rs. 4 crore.

185. To augment digitization of the Registration Department and modernize registration services, a new scheme under STAR-3.0 is being implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 320 crore to leverage advanced technologies such as Big Data Analysis, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. With an objective of providing modern offices, 71 century-old dilapidated buildings have been identified for re-construction in the first phase. The works are being implemented at a cost of Rs. 133 crore.

193. …. Further, the termination of GST compensation regime since 30.06.2022 has caused a revenue shortfall of approximately Rs.20,000 crore per annum. Under these challenging circumstances, the Budget for the year 2023-24 had been presented in March last year.

Budget 2024 – State Tamil due

Speech of Thiru. Thangam Thenarasu, Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management, Government of Tamil Nadu, presenting the Budget Estimates for the year 2024-25 to the Legislative Assembly on 19th February 2024.