38 per cent increase in tax collection in Bihar till Nov:

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi Friday said the state government has collected Rs 15,466 crore in taxes till November this year, which is 38 per cent more compared to same period in the last fiscal.

"The Commercial Taxes department has so far collected Rs 15,466 crore till November against the revenue collection target of Rs 27,000 crore for the financial year 2018-19, which is an increase of 38 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal," he said.

The deputy chief minister said this while inaugurating the 'training programme' organised for newly recruited officers of Bihar Finance Service in the state capital.

Sushil Modi, who also holds charge of Finance portfolio, said the number of registered tax-payers has gone upto 3.87 lakh against 1.69 lakh registered during VAT regime. Out of 3.87 lakh, 2.18 lakh are new tax-payers.

To give relief to small tax-payers, the GST council is contemplating to increase the limit of Rs 20 lakh turnover to Rs 75 lakh under composition scheme besides also bringing out composition scheme for service providers who have the turnover of Rs 50 lakh, he said.

It is also considering to reduce the tax rate to five per cent from existing 12 and 18 per cent tax on goods used in construction sector, he added.

The GST Council is also contemplating to reduce the 28 per cent tax rate on cement and auto parts, he said adding that the average monthly collection of GST has increased to Rs 97,100 crore in 2018-19 against the average monthly collection of Rs 89,700 crore in 2017-18.

Terming the GST regime as biggest indirect tax reforms after independence, he said that prior to GST regime, 17 different types of taxes used to be levied which have been subsumed by the GST. It has also abolished check-posts across the country, thus translating the concept of "one nation, one tax, one market" into reality, he added.

Many countries witnessed surge in prices following the implementation of GST but the prices remained under check in the country (India) after the introduction of GST because of lesser GST rate, Sushil Modi said.