“Bill Liyao Inaam Pao Scheme” Successfully Imposes penalties worth Rs 8.15 crore on non-compliant taxpayers
Rewarded 4,106 Consumers Prizes Worth Rs 2.45 Crore for uploading purchase bills on Mera Bill app
Chandigarh, February 18
Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said that the Excise and Taxation Department has conducted targeted GST registration drives to broaden the GST tax base, resulting in the addition of 46,338 new taxpayers in 2023-24 and approximately 33,000 new taxpayers up to December 2024. He said that a statewide campaign has also been launched to educate taxpayers on filing procedures, ITC claims, and compliance benefits.
Revealing this in a press communiqué issued here, the Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the State GST department initiated another GSTR registration drive in January 2025, visiting approximately 48,000 new dealers and successfully registering around 10,500 eligible dealers across Punjab. He said that various community engagement methods were employed during the registration drive, including awareness camps, meetings with market and industry associations, and interactions with professionals such as Chartered Accountants (CAs), advocates, and accountants.
Highlighting the initiatives taken to promote tax compliance among consumers, the Finance Minister said that the department has extended the “Bill Liyao Inaam Pao Scheme” and sought the active involvement of school and college students to spread awareness among the younger generation. He said the scheme has successfully imposed penalties worth Rs 8.15 crore on non-compliant taxpayers and rewarded 4,106 consumers with Rs. 2.45 Crore for uploading their purchase bills on Mera Bill app.
“To increase tax revenue from registered dealers, the department has ensured proper GST filing and compliance, with 93% of registered taxpayers consistently filing returns on time. The department has also penalized tax evaders, collaborated with IIT Hyderabad to integrate advanced data analytic tools, and implemented adjudication and scrutiny modules to prevent revenue leakages”, said the Finance Minister.
Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema emphasized that expanding the GST tax base is crucial for improving revenue, reducing tax evasion, and ensuring a fair taxation system. He said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government is committed to achieving this goal through a two-pronged approach of bringing unregistered businesses under GST and enhancing compliance among registered taxpayers.
