GUJARAT

With surging raw material costs, costlier commodities coupled with an improved demand in the run up to the festive season, Gujarats GST collection stood at an all-time high of Rs 8,497 crore in October 2021, since the rollout of the new tax regime. Tax collection grew 25% year-on-year against Rs 6,797 crore in October 2020.Gujarathad the second highest GST collection, laggingMaharashtrawhere the tax mop-up was Rs 16,355 crore in October.

According to Union finance ministry, the revenues would have still been higher if the sales of cars and other products had not been affected because of disruption in supply of semi-Conductors.
Even month on month, GST collection rose 9.2% against Septembers Rs 7,780 crore in Gujarat. state GST (SGST) collection has also grown 40% in Gujarat during October. According to data, SGST collection stood at Rs 3,821 crore in October this year against Rs 2,731 crore of collection in the same month last year.

Since the ban on single-use-plastics (SUP) came into force on July 1, manufacturers of non-woven fabric have seen an uptick in demand. Three weeks after the ban was implemented, estimates byIndinonManufacturers Association of Non-wovens (INDINON) show that production of non-woven fabric makers is up 15%, backed by greater demand for non-woven bags that are reusable and recyclable, to replace plastic bags.

Most players in the FMCG sector, electronics, showrooms, grocery stores and other retail outlets have switched to using non-woven bags.

Since the pandemic began two years ago, demand for non-woven fabrics has increased for use in manufacture of disposable bags, masks,PPEkits and coveralls, disposable bedsheets and pillow covers and applications in the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector as well.

As industrial production has returned to full-throttle after the second wave of Covid cases with a massive increase in raw material prices across sectors, GST collection inGujaratgrew by 28% in September 2021 against the same month in 2020.

Total GST collection in the state stood at Rs 7,780 crore in September, up from Rs 6,090 crore in September 2020, according to data from the Union finance ministry.

xperts say the increased tax collection is primarily due to a revival indemandand the low-base of last year, as tax collection was relatively low due to the post-lockdown effect.

Of the total collection, State GST (SGST) in Gujarat stood at Rs 3,654 crore this September, up 47.5% from Rs 2,415 crore last September. Tax collection, however, grew marginally, by 3.5%, against Augusts figure of Rs 3,530 crore, according to figures from the state commercial tax department.

Gujaratproduces 76% of the countrys salt. Kharaghoda, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, and the Rann of Kutch are major salt-producing centres. The research study, published in Elseviers Marine Pollution Journal, has stated that of the solid microparticle pollutants separated from the samples, 90.3% were microplastic FRACTIONS and 9.7% were non-microplastic fractions. The study was carried out by a team of 10 scientists including geologists, ocean researchers, and biotechnologists.

Polyethylene (78%) was the dominant microplastic pollutant, followed by polyester (19%). Polyvinyl chloride content was found too. The packing material of salt was primarily composed of polyethylene. A few large-sizedplasticfragments which were greater than 5mm were also observed in the samples.

The Gujarat government is mulling a proposal to set up an authority to regulate the rates of various taxes likeproperty tax,water tax, user charges and the like that are levied by urban civic bodies across the state.
The authority is expected to be modelled on the provisions of theGujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, which has the mandate to regulate the electricity sector in the state.

At present, different urban civic bodies like municipal corporations, urban development authorities and municipalities have their own tax structure. In many civic bodies, various taxes have not been revised for several years.

Due to the resumption of economic activity after the worst of the pandemic andpressure across the board, the state’sGST collectionrose by 49% this June.Gujarat‘sGSTmop-up was Rs 9,135 crore in June 2022 (till June 29) against Rs 6,128 crore last June.

The Growth is on a low base, as tax collection was subdued last year as the second wave of Covid-19 cases had barely ended and economic activity was slow.

At the recent GST council meeting, tax rates on a host of items of mass-consumption were increased and exemptions removed. The council approved a 12% tax on hotel rooms costing less than Rs 1,000 a day and a 5% levy without input tax credit on hospital rooms with rentals above Rs 5,000. Several unbranded pre-packaged and labelled food items will also attract 5% tax.

Gujarats acreage is likely to increase 10% this kharif season with farmers getting high prices for the natural fibre last year. Currently, the area under cotton cultivation in the state has increased to 16.50 lakh hectares as on July 5, compared to 15.72 lakh hectares during the same period last year. This was revealed in the latest data compiled by thestate Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department.

The area under cotton cultivation in Gujarat had declined 15% to 23 lakh hectares in 2020 from 27 lakh hectares in 2019. The Average cotton acreage of the past three years is 25.53 lakh hectares.
Strong demand from domestic and international markets had pushed up cotton prices to a decadal high of Rs 52,000 per candy (one candy is equivalent to 356kg) by the end of the cotton season for 2020-21.

According to theCotton Association of India(CAI), despite a lower acreage last year, Gujarats cotton output is estimated to rise to about 97 lakh bales in the 2020-21 season. One bale is equivalent to 170kg. In the previous season, the output was 95 lakh bales.

The government ofGujarat, in a press statement, said that in the last two years there has been a 1,475% increase in sales of electric vehicles (EVs) due to the new incentive policy.

The launched the Gujarat State Electric Vehicle Policy in 2021 with the aim of making Gujarat a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles and related industries With the implementation of policy, the state witnessed a 1,475% increase in registration of EVs. From 7,240 EVs before the launch of the policy, the number of EVs registered in Gujarat now stands at 1,18,086.

Around 8,858 EVs have been registered every month for the last five months. Surat has the highest number of EVs at 31,561. It is followed by 20,937 in Ahmedabad, 7,648 in Vadodara, 6,678 in Rajkot and 3,259 in Jamnagar. Of the registered EVs, there are 1,06,341 two-wheelers, 4,093 three-wheelers, 5,646 four-wheelers and 2,006 others.

The state government is giving special attention to Infrastructure for electric vehicles. EV charging stations are being built at a quick pace in various cities of Gujarat. Some 250 new public charging stations will come up soon. At present, there are a total of 152 charging stations in the state. The government, in collaboration withBISAG-N, will provide uniform charging infrastructure and facilitate smoother charging station site selection. Accordingly, 91 hotspots have been selected in municipal corporations, 48 in municipal areas, 96 on state highways/national highways and 15 at tourist destinations.

Under the state government policy implemented in 2021, a maximum subsidy of Rs 20,000 is given on two-wheelers, Rs 50,000 on three-wheelers and Rs 1,50,000 on four-wheelers. So far, Rs 133.83 crore has been paid out by the state government. This policy will be operational for four years.