The expenditure on collection in respect of sales tax, stamp duty and registration fees, among other things, in Kerala is higher than the national average.

According to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for the year ended March 31, 2008, the percentage of expenditure to gross collection of sales tax during 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 were 0.87 per cent, 0.91 per cent and 0.96 per cent respectively, while the all-India average percentage in 2006-07 was 0.82 per cent.

In the case of stamps (non-judicial) and registration fees, the percentage of expenditure to gross collection in the State for the three years were 4.47 per cent, 4.02 per cent and 3.99 per cent, respectively, as compared to the national average of 2.33 per cent in 2006-07.
Excise collection

The collection expenditure for state excise in the State during the three years under review were 5.80 per cent, 6.09 per cent and 5.94 per cent respectively, which were significantly higher than the national average of 3.30 per cent recorded in 2006-07.

The CAG report says that the arrears of revenue as on March 31, 2008, in respect of some principal heads like commercial taxes, electrical inspectorate, land revenue, motor vehicles and state excise amounted to Rs 10,610.15 crore. Out of this, arrears to the tune of Rs 4,519.42 crore were outstanding for more than five years.