Punjab registers buoyancy in tax collection

Notwithstanding the current slowdown, Punjab has registered 12 per cent increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) collection during the first nine months of the current financial year as compared to the same period previous year. Already having collected Rs 6,200 crore under VAT as on December 31, the government expects to collect Rs 8,000 crore by this financial year, which would be about 18 per cent growth over the last financial year.

Speaking to Business Standard, excise and taxation commissioner A Venu Prasad said, “We are hopeful that we would be able to collect Rs 8,000 crore in the current financial year. We foresee that the VAT collection in the coming months will increase exponentially, which will help us in meeting the target.”

 

The department has collected Rs 6,200 crore VAT up to December 31, which is an increase of Rs 650 crore as compared with the corresponding period last year and growth of about 12 per cent over the previous year.

Sources added that this could be possible only because of rationalisation of the tax structure besides checking the leakage. The state is streamlining the revenue collection machinery besides blocking the loopholes to boost revenue growth.

The VAT collection in the first five months of the current financial year was not very encouraging as the state registered an increase of 7 per cent only over the corresponding period last year.