Budget 2019: Centre to improve expenditure efficiency, improve tax collections

New Delhi [India], Feb 1 (ANI): The Central government will focus on improving expenditure efficiency and improve tax collections to ensure that the economy moves back to the fiscal deficit path as mentioned in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday while presenting the interim Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha.
“The growth prospects of in the medium to long term are sanguine. Hence, the buoyancy accorded to fiscal management of increased nominal GDP and the resultant uptick in revenues is expected to lift the fiscal prospects of the economy,” he said.
As per the Medium Term Fiscal Policy-cum-Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, non-debt capital receipts on the capital side are expected to be Rs 102,508 crore in 2019-20, indicating an increase of Rs 9,353 crore over 2018-19. “Increase in non-debt capital receipts is mostly on account of disinvestment which is budgeted at Rs 90,000 crore (2018-19 Rs 80,000 crore),” said the Finance Ministry in an official document. 
Total net borrowings in 2019-20 are projected at Rs 703,999 crore as compared to Rs 634,398 crore in 2018-19. This reflects an increase of 11 per cent over revised estimates. The government had promised last year that it would carry out reforms in stamp duty levied and collected on financial securities transactions. 
“I am proposing, through the Finance Bill, necessary amendments in this regard. The amendments proposed would usher in a very streamlined system. Stamp duties would be levied on one instrument relating to one transaction and get collected at one place through the stock exchanges. The duty so collected will be shared with the state governments seamlessly on the basis of domicile of buying client,” said Finance Minister Goyal.
While giving a vision for fiscal consolidation, Goyal said: “We have maintained the glide path towards our target of 3 per cent of fiscal deficit to be achieved by 2020-21.” “The government will now focus on debt consolidation along with completion of the fiscal deficit consolidation programme,” he added. 
“India’s debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was 46.5 per cent in the year 2017-18. The FRBM Act prescribes that the debt to GDP ratio should be brought down to 40 per cent by 2024-25,” said the Finance Minister.
According to the Budget proposals, the fiscal deficit will be 3.4 per cent in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The FRBM targets for the year were 3.3 per cent in 2018-19 to be brought down to 3.1 per cent in 2019-20. 
On the other hand, gross tax revenue is expected to increase to 12.1 per cent of GDP in 2019-20 and stabilise at that level in 2020-21 before climbing up to a level of 12.2 per cent of GDP.
According to the Medium Term Fiscal Policy-cum-Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, the gross tax revenue is budgeted at Rs 25,52,131 crore in 2019-20. This reflects a growth of Rs 3,03,956 crore (13.5 per cent) over 2018-19. 
Direct taxes are expected to reach Rs 13,80,000 crore in 2019-20 compared to Rs 12,00,000 crore in 2018-19, indicating an increase of 15 per cent over revised estimates. It is expected that direct taxes would be 6.6 per cent of GDP at the end of 2019-20. 
Indirect taxes are budgeted at Rs 11,66,188 crore in 2019-20, showing an increase of 11.8 per cent over revised estimates Rs 10,42,833 crore). The increase is mainly on account of improvement in GST collections anticipated in 2019-20. (ANI)