State is owed ₹1.66L crore in arrears

Govt expects to earn ₹8k crore from amnesty scheme, not applicable to non-tax revenue

- Surendra P Gangan

MUMBAI: Even as the cash-strapped Maharashtra government faces an estimated debt of ₹9,32,242 crore for the financial year 2025-26, the highest in the state's history, the amount of money it is owed from tax and non-tax revenue has accumulated to a whopping ₹1.66 lakh crore. That's over 22% of the state budget.

While presenting the state budget for FY 2025-26 on Monday, finance minister Ajit Pawar announced an amnesty scheme for pending arrears. The government expects tax revenue of around ₹8,000 crore from this scheme, with most of the unrealized tax revenue stemming from tax disputes with central government departments and oil marketing companies.

However, even if the government manages to recover the entire ₹8,000 crore, which is unlikely, it will account for just over 5.5% of the total unrealized revenue from various taxes—₹1.43 lakh crore. And the amnesty scheme will not apply to non-tax revenue, in which the arrears are ₹22,746 crore.