Over 40,000 units in Gujarat owe Rs 29,000 cr in taxes

Over 40,000 business units in the state owe the government more than Rs 29,000 crore by way of taxes including VAT, sales tax and GST. Of these, 6,393 units owe more than Rs 10 lakh each. The figures were revealed in reply to various queries made by MLAs in the state assembly. The state government also revealed that the units, in total, owed Rs 29,560 crore by way of taxes and so far, the government has not managed to recover the dues.

Of the total number of units that owe money to the state by way of taxes, the highest is from Surat followed by Vadodara. In Vadodara, 7,377 units owe the state while 7,583 units in Surat are yet to pay their tax dues.

It should be noted that Vadodara is home to several clusters of industries focused on chemicals and fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, fisheries and dairy, among others. It has over 18,000 small-scale industrial units including 5,713 service units and 1,923 textile units. It also has several glass and ceramic industries. In terms of value of taxes owed, Vadodara's debt stands highest at Rs 6,341 crore followed by Kutch where units owe the state a total of Rs 4,569 crore.

Surat has nine industrial clusters and it has a large presence of diamond processing, textile and chemical and petrochemical industries. It is also the textile hub of the state and is home to over 65,000 synthetic power looms, and around 41,300 small and medium industries.

With regard to actions taken against such units, the government said that except for in cases where the recovery had been stopped by competent authorities, cases have been filed against all defaulting units. It, however, did not clarify as to why recoveries remain pending despite the actions taken.

A tax expert said that most of the pendencies arise over disputes between the state and the industry. "So, these matters go for arbitration and further appeals too. As a result, the government loses revenue and this is why the Central and state budgets have been providing for amnesty schemes for such cases, so that it is reduced considerably," said the expert.