Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise, and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema chaired a review meeting of the Excise and Taxation department, where he directed officials to intensify efforts towards improving GST compliance in the service sector.

Finance Minister Cheema emphasized the need for robust monitoring and enforcement to minimize tax evasion and maximize revenue collection. He also urged officials to conduct regular audits, investigations, and outreach programs to ensure higher compliance rates. The meeting aimed to strengthen the tax administration, enhance revenue mobilization, and promote a culture of tax compliance among service sector stakeholders.

“By focusing on GST compliance in the service sector, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government aims to unlock additional revenue streams, boost economic growth, and contribute to the state’s economic progress”, said Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.

During the review meeting of the Excise department, the Minister directed officials to develop strategies to recover outstanding arrears dating back to FY 2016-17, intending to convert these long-overdue payments into realized revenue. The Minister instructed officials to exhaust all avenues to recover the outstanding arrears, leveraging every legal recourse available to ensure prompt recovery. The comprehensive review meeting deliberated on a range of key issues, including excise revenue optimization and stringent enforcement measures to curb evasion and smuggling.

Prominent amongst others, Additional Chief Secretary cum Finance Commissioner (Taxation) Vikas Partap Singh, Excise and Taxation Commissioner Varun Roojam and Additional Commissioner Taxation Gauri Parashar Joshi were present in the meeting.