Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday claimed that the state has crossed Rs 10,000 crore mark for the first time since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The state government has collected Rs 10,604 crore GST during the first six months of the current financial year.

The Minister said the state has seen a growth of 22.6 per cent in GST collection in the current financial year as against the same period last year. He said that during the first six months of the last financial year, the GST collection stood at Rs 8,650 crore whereas during the current year, the state has earned Rs 1,954 crore more, taking the total GST collection to Rs 10,604 crore.

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Disclosing the GST figures for the month of September 2022, Cheema said that the state has registered a growth rate of 22 per cent. He said that the GST collection for September this year was Rs 1,710 crore as compared to the collection of Rs 1,402 crore in September 2021.

Finance Minister Cheema said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government has estimated a GST collection of Rs 20,550 crore in its maiden budget for the financial year 2022-23.

“The state has achieved more than 50 per cent in the first six months,” he said, adding that the state is expected to see a healthy growth in the GST collection during the upcoming festival season.

Cheema said the state government has passed the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the Punjab Assembly to plug all loopholes, besides stopping bogus billing which would not only benefit the traders but will also increase the own revenue of the state.