Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Maharashtra, introduced an amendment bill in the Assembly that will tax lotteries, casinos, horse racing, internet gaming and betting at the highest 28% GST bracket. The bill, aiming to amend the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act of 2017, is under discussion in the Winter Session of the State Legislature in Nagpur.
If passed by the Lower House, the bill will proceed to the Legislative Council for voting and final approval. This proposed amendment aims to incorporate a new set of services under the highest GST bracket, potentially introducing a fresh revenue stream for the State.
Maharashtra government on Thursday tabled supplementary demands of Rs 55,520.77 crore in the State Assembly on the first day of the Winter Session. The supplementary demands, which are additional funds sought by the government over the budgetary allocation, were tabled in the House by Finance Minister Ajit Pawar.
Of the total, supplementary demands of Rs 19,244.34 crore were described as mandatory expenditure, while demands of Rs 32,792.81 crore are required for various ongoing programmes and schemes of the State Government, a note issued by the Finance Department said.
Besides that, supplementary demands of Rs 3,483.62 crore are towards the state’s contribution to the ongoing schemes of the Union Government, it said. “There are several ongoing schemes which require a portion of financial expenditure from the state’s coffers,” a Finance Department official said. The actual impact of these supplementary demands on the state treasury would be Rs 48,384.66 crore, the note said.
Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar sought to corner the Eknath Shinde Government in the Assembly on Thursday over crop losses suffered by farmers due to recent unseasonal rains in parts of Maharashtra and demanded a loan waiver, while Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis listed steps taken to help cultivators.
Speaking in the Lower House on the first day of the Winter Session in Nagpur, Wadettiwar claimed the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP (Ajit Pawar group) government has no time for farmers affected by recent unseasonal rains and water scarcity or drought in some parts of the state.
“The state government is spending more on its own events than helping farmers, who lost their crops due to unseasonal showers. Crop assessment reports are still pending, adding to farmers’ frustration,” said the Congress MLA.