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Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday inaugurated the state’s only Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Agartala and said GST has been instrumental in making a lot of difference in North East India, especially Tripura.
GST Bhawan is a project of CGST, CX and Customs Bureau, Agartala, Guwahati District, under Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) Agartala. It is located near Netaji Chowmuhani on Mantri Bari Road in Agartala.
Built at a price of Rs 28 crore, GST Bhawan has eight floors, including the ground floor, and is equipped with facilities and space for support and training in GST related issues.
While stressing the need to boost border trade with Bangladesh, Sitharaman said, since Tripura is a border state, customs should remain alert. “Customs must be on alert and must ensure that trade between the two countries is facilitated rather than hindered,” she said.
Sitharaman said before the introduction of GST, Tripura was annually receiving only Rs 4.21 crore as central collection of sales tax. “However, since then, the state has come a long way in business growth and subsequent revenue generation and in 2022-23, Tripura has collected Rs 982.5 crore in interstate GST, in five to six years,” she said.
“After GST, collections and revenue generation for Tripura has been very favorable. It has gone from single to triple digits. Inter-state trade has been facilitated. It shows how GST actually means good for the north-eastern states, Tripura’s number is almost enviable. Tripura needs a lot of resources but in six years, a lot of development shows the need for greater coordination through GST. More business is coming through GST,” Sitharaman said.
It also urged the GST authorities to conduct awareness initiatives with the state government so that more small businesses understand that they benefit from GST registration. “Large companies do not want to purchase or buy goods from companies that are not subject to GST,” she said.
Regarding the particular facts of the region in north-eastern India, such as the rugged terrain, the Union Finance Minister said that it is difficult for people from such inaccessible areas to access and register under GST in Agartala.
I asked officials to reach out to people in such areas and discuss the benefits of GST and how it can benefit their resources and give them higher returns in terms of business.
There has to be a two-pronged approach. In order to make remote people appreciate the benefits of GST, officials can go out there and tell them how they can benefit from their resources and give them back more,” she said.
CBIC President Vivek Johri, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra and others joined the inaugural event and praised the role of the taxpayers of Tripura. The Union Finance Minister later stopped a mobile ATM of the Tripura Grameen Bank at a hotel in Agartala.
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