In a major push to widen Punjab’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) base, the state’s Excise and Taxation Department has successfully added over 79,000 new taxpayers in the past two years through targeted registration drives. Finance, Planning, Excise, and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday that 46,338 new taxpayers were registered in 2023-24, with an additional 33,000 enrolled by December 2024.
Cheema, in an official statement, highlighted the government’s proactive approach in educating businesses about tax compliance, ITC (Input Tax Credit) claims, and the benefits of timely filings. He emphasized that expanding the GST base is not just about increasing revenue but also about creating a fair and transparent taxation system that discourages tax evasion.
The Minister disclosed that in January 2025, the Department launched another statewide GST registration campaign, visiting nearly 48,000 dealers and successfully registering around 10,500 eligible businesses across Punjab.
Various outreach methods, including awareness camps, industry interactions, and meetings with professionals like Chartered Accountants (CAs), advocates, and accountants, were employed to ensure maximum participation. These initiatives have significantly improved GST compliance awareness among businesses and traders.
To further promote tax compliance among consumers, the Punjab Government has extended the ‘Bill Liyao Inaam Pao’ scheme, which incentivizes consumers to demand bills for their purchases. Under the scheme, penalties worth Rs 8.15 crore have been imposed on non-compliant taxpayers. A total of 4,106 consumers have been rewarded with prizes totaling Rs 2.45 crore for uploading purchase bills on the Mera Bill app.
School and college students have also been actively involved in raising awareness about the importance of proper invoicing and tax documentation. Praising the initiative, Cheema said: “This scheme has successfully encouraged both businesses and consumers to participate in tax compliance, making Punjab’s taxation system more robust.â€
Punjab Government has made tax compliance a top priority, ensuring that 93 percent of registered taxpayers consistently file their GST returns on time. To further strengthen compliance and prevent revenue leakages, the department has penalized the tax evaders; collaborated with IIT Hyderabad to integrate advanced data analytics tools for fraud detection; and implemented adjudication and scrutiny modules to track discrepancies and prevent tax leakages.
