FinMin said to monitor revenue, expenditure on daily basis from March 15 to keep fiscal deficit in check

Keen to keep government deficit within stated targets, the Finance Ministry will start daily monitoring of the revenue receipts, including tax collections, as well as expenditure, from March 15.

The move comes against the backdrop of a possible deferment of the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC, which was expected to fetch more than ₹60,000 crore, to the next financial year in view of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and its implication on Indian markets.

On the other hand, the government’s decision to bring back thousands of Indian students stranded in Ukraine will impose an additional burden on the exchequer.

According to officials, the daily monitoring of tax and non-tax revenue collections will help the government take timely corrective actions.

“The CBDT and CBIC have been asked to report flash figures up to the previous day latest by 12 noon. Besides, other non-tax and disinvestment receipts would have to be reported on a daily basis,” the official told PTI.

Officials said that the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) has been asked to provide daily revenue collection and expenditure figures of various Ministries between March 15 and March 31 to the expenditure secretary.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) are the apex bodies responsible for collecting direct and indirect taxes, respectively.

The likely deferment of the LIC IPO along with any additional burden from bringing back Indians stranded in Ukraine will put pressure on the fiscal deficit, which has already been raised in the Revised Estimates (RE) to 6.9% of GDP, from the 6.8% estimated earlier.

The government has collected ₹15.47 lakh crore in net tax revenue, which is 87.7% of the full-fiscal target of ₹17.65 lakh crore.

Similarly, non-tax revenue collections stood at ₹2.91 lakh crore till January, or 92.9% of the RE target of ₹3.13 lakh crore.

However, the government has raised only ₹12,423 crore from disinvestments so far this fiscal, against the revised target of ₹78,000 crore. It has been banking on the LIC IPO to meet the target.

The government’s total expenditure till January-end came to ₹28.09 lakh crore, as against the RE of ₹37.70 lakh crore for the entire fiscal.