Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the plan to construct ‘GST Bhavan’, the building for the Tirupati CGST Commissionerate, reflects the Central Government’s commitment to bolstering infrastructure and efficiency in tax administration.
Participating virtually in the stone-laying ceremony here on November 16, Ms. Sitharaman lauded the CGST and Customs Vizag zone for its positive trends in revenue earning.
Highlighting the need for facilitating the taxpayers, she announced that approval was given to Andhra Pradesh for biometric-based Aadhaar authentication through GST Seva Kendras.
“The Tirupati Commissionerate has collected GST of ₹8,264 crore last year and ₹5,019 crore up to September 2023. The Commissionerate has seen much progress in the last few years, posting an impressive growth of about 300% in GST regime,” she observed, pointing to manufacture of passenger vehicles, cement and automotive batteries as the major contributor for this “striking growth.”
Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Department of Revenue, also participating virtually, said revenue growth and law enforcement should work hand-in-hand, and all matters related to prosecution should be expedited and brought to logical conclusion in time.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Zonal Member Vivek Ranjan and Chief Commissioner (Visakhapatnam zone) Sanjay Pant participated in the ritual.
