The office of West Bengal Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, has instructed state government departments to develop department-specific plans to identify revenue leakages and propose measures to prevent them, aiming to boost the state’s tax revenue. Departments have been tasked with reporting on past revenue collection targets and achievements under the previous government. Emphasis is placed on sectors like agriculture, transport, land reforms, public works, and health due to their high revenue potential and susceptibility to leakages.
The new state government has already implemented measures in certain departments that led to an additional tax revenue collection of approximately Rs 1,000 crore in the initial two months of its tenure compared to the previous period. The government plans to extend these efforts to all departments to enhance overall tax revenue by the end of the 2026-27 financial year. The focus is on creating blueprints for each department to identify and prevent revenue leakages effectively.
The previous regime was accused of intentional revenue leakages through institutional corruption, which will be detailed in the government’s forthcoming white paper. The white paper will highlight sectors where revenue collection was compromised and the resulting losses to the state exchequer. State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta emphasized the importance of plugging tax collection loopholes to boost revenue without burdening taxpayers with higher tax rates.
Following the announcement of budget proposals for the 2026-27 financial year, concerns were raised about the lack of specific strategies to enhance the state’s tax revenue. However, the state government defended its budget decisions, attributing the revenue improvement strategy to early actions taken to prevent leakages since assuming office.
