ITANAGAR, 23 Sep: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Tuesday interacted with shopkeepers and traders in Naharlagun near here, and highlighted the benefits, processes, and compliance aspects of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
When GST was implemented, the indirect tax revenue of Arunachal Pradesh was Rs 270 crore. Today, it has reached Rs 1,900 crore and an increase of 700 percent, Mein said while leading the Next-Gen GST Prachar Abhiyaan at G-Extension market.
He said the number of GST taxpayers has also increased from just over 7,000 in 2017 to nearly 18,500 by mid-2025.
This increase is due to wider digital access, simplified registration processes, and efforts to bring small businesses into the formal economy, the DCM said.
Terming the GST ‘One Nation, One Tax’, Mein said earlier there were many different tax systems. There was a time when Arunachal’s citizens would get upset or shocked just by the mention of the word ‘tax’.
He praised the Narendra Modi-led government for implementing the GST.
Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao appealed to the people to use swadeshi (indigenous) products to become a self-reliant and developed nation.
More than 300 items, including edibles, children’s books, pencils, TVs, etc, have been made GST-free, which will benefit the general public, he said.
Expressing happiness over the GST reforms, IMC Corporator Tarh Achak requested the business community to pass on the benefits to the customers.
He advised shopkeepers to sell their products at the correct rate, for which the government has brought out the reforms.
Rajya Sabha member and also GST Prachar Abhiyan convener Nabam Rebia, Arunachal BJP president Kaling Moyong, MLAs Tojir Kadu and Techi Kaso, Itanagar Municipal Corporation Mayor Tamme Phassang, and corporators participated in the outreach initiative. (PTI)
