AGARTALA: Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma on Thursday said the GST collection in Tripura has more than doubled during the past five years.
The GST collection (without compensation) has been enhanced from Rs 479.71 crore in 2017-18 FY to Rs 1282.69 crore in 2021-22 FY in the state, he said during a programme - Journey with GST - 5 years and road ahead.
"It was not easy to take all the states into one boat but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully implemented the GST across the nation. This is not only geographical integration but also integration among the government, taxpayers and tax officials", the deputy chief minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio said.
"Tripura has registered an overall 21 per cent hike tax collection and the Centre has been releasing the GST compensation to the state on regular basis", he said.
Laying emphasis on cooperative attitude between the taxpayers and the tax officials, Dev Verma said the formation of GST council was also a landmark step for one nation one tax regime.
"Every decision that the GST council makes is on the basis of consensus, which is a very challenging task. There are states who argue against any proposal that has been finally resolved consensus, he stated.
Terming the GST as a living law, Dev Varma said the GST is not rigid as there is ample scope to amend it based on the consensus in the GST council meeting. Tripura Finance Secretary Brijesh Pandey said that the tax collection is crucial for infrastructure building.
"The government plans to invest Rs 500 crore in the education sector. Besides, Rs 5,000 crore has been put in the state's capital expenditure in the current fiscal year. These have been possible because of growing tax collection in the state", he said. At the event, a total of 26 honest tax payers were felicitated for GST compliance.