STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection and devolution in the northeastern states have been a success.
Addressing the Investiture Ceremony of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) here on Friday, she said that the eight states in the region have seen a compounded yearly GST increase of 27.5 percent. She corroborated this with the 2023 RBI’s assessment of state budgets.
“Four days after it passed, Assam became the first state to ratify the GST Act, and since then, the amount of taxes collected has increased by a factor of 12 times.
“Prior to the adoption of the GST, Assam collected Rs 558.26 crore in sales tax; now, it collects Rs 7,097 crore,” the Union Minister said. “Sikkim and Meghalaya have also achieved a great deal, with the former’s revenue rising from Rs 263.5 crore to Rs 3,036 crore and the latter’s from Rs 587.21 crore to Rs 2,078 crore,” she added.
She said GST has brought about “tremendous improvement in the system that has ultimately benefited the people as well”. There are 25 operational Land Customs Stations (LCS) in the northeast, of which 15 have electronic facilities. She also encouraged the authorities to make sure that by December, all LCSs will be equipped with computerised tools that will aid in detecting and preventing smuggling.
The ceremony was held at a hotel in Assam’s Guwahati on Friday morning. The Presidential Award of Appreciation Certificate was awarded to 29 officers and staff of CBIC. These officers were selected based on their exemplary performance in their respective fields over the years.
The awardees selected this year include officers from all cadres of the Service who have consistently performed within their various assignments, including prevention of smuggling, detection of tax evasion, detection of trade-based money laundering, and foreign exchange violations, besides contributions in tax policy formulation, revenue mobilization, automation of business processes, and capacity building and training.
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