Punjab has collected Rs 10,604 crore as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) during the first six months of the current financial year — crossing the 10,000-mark for the first time since the implementation of the GST regime.

Sharing the same, Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the State has seen a growth of 22.6 percent in GST collection in the current financial year as against the same period the previous year.

He further added that during the first six months of the previous 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.

Disclosing the GST figures for the month of September 2022, Cheema said that the State has registered a growth rate of 22 percent. He said that the GST collection for September this year was Rs 1710 crore as compared to the collection of Rs 1402 in September 2021.

The Minister said that the 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 percent in the first six months,” said the Finance Minister while adding that the State is expected to see a healthy growth in GST collection during the upcoming festival season.

“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 would also increase the own revenue of the State,” he added.