Kotak Mahindra Bank has got the mandate to collect VAT (value-added tax) in four States, according to an executive.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Puneet Kapoor, Executive Vice-President, Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said that in a recent development the Government has agreed to open up government business to private banks.

“The first mandate we have received is to collect VAT in four States on behalf of the respective Governments,” he said.

This facility went online in Delhi in mid-September and Andhra Pradesh this month, he said.

The facility will be offered in Gujarat and Punjab soon. “The paperwork and agreement are being done with these governments. Over the course of October hopefully we should be done with everything,” he said.

To a query on the amount of business expected from the facility, he said it was a little premature to comment on it .

The bank is in constant dialogue with various government departments and ministries on getting more government business, he said.

Stating that the bank was offering higher interest rates on savings bank (SB) accounts, he said SB balances above Rs 1 lakh get 6 per cent interest rate, and those up to Rs 1 lakh get 5.5 per cent.

The facility was launched in November last year. The SB deposits stood at Rs 5,540 crore (Rs 3,307 crore) at of June end, recording a growth of around 68 per cent. “The trajectory has remained the same in July-September quarter,” he said.

Kapoor said that Kotak Mahindra Bank, which has 389 branches, plans to reach the 500-mark by December 2013. “By March 2013, we are planning to have a network of 436 branches,” he said.

Nearly 30 per cent of the branches are located in semi-urban and rural areas, he added. (The Hindu)