Himachal claims improvement in GST collection by 18 pc 

Himachal Pradesh Government claimed on Wednesday that its GST recorded major leap of 18 per cent up to the previous  month. The Commissioner State Taxes and Excise, Yunus said in a press statement that the GST collection was tune to Rs. 503 crore up to the January which has gear up total GST collections in the current financial year to Rs 4556 Cr. against Rs. 3760 Cr. collected during the last financial year. He said compared to same period of of last FY, the growth in GST is  21 percent more so far this year . He said that the collections have maintained a handsome growth trajectory so far in the current financial year as a result of strengthen enforcement alongside improved taxpayer compliances. He said that the department would continue to focus in improvement in return filing, speedy scrutiny of returns, and timely completion of GST audits.  Strengthened enforcement continues to be the focus areas for the department so as to achieve the target and maintain the cumulative growth in the current financial year. He said the department has verified 11 lakh e-way bills during road checks being conducted in the current financial year. It remains committed to improve voluntary compliances with time bound redressal of the issues of the stakeholders. He said the department continues to focus on capacity building of tax officers in order to strengthen their knowledge base. It has trained more than 400 tax officers in the last six months.