ITANAGAR, 12 Jun: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein reaffirmed the government’s commitment to modernising tax administration, enhancing transparency, and fostering a tax-compliant ecosystem for sustained growth and development.
Mein, who is also the minister in charge of finance, tax, excise & narcotics, said this during a review meeting of the Tax, Excise & Narcotics Department held at his secretariat office here on Thursday.
The meeting focused on assessing the state’s GST collections, evaluating the overall performance under the GST regime, and discussing strategies to enhance tax compliance and revenue mobilisation.
The DCM directed the department to intensify efforts to bring all eligible firms, particularly hotels, restaurants, and resorts which falls within the GST threshold for mandatory registration. He stressed the need for awareness campaigns and outreach programmes in collaboration with the Arunachal Chamber of Commerce & Industries (ACCI) to educate stakeholders about the benefits and importance of GST registration.
Highlighting the transformative impact of GST, he said that the reform has simplified indirect taxation by unifying various central and state taxes into a single tax structure. “This has helped eliminate cascading taxation and facilitated a more integrated national market,” he said.
Arunachal Pradesh adopted the GST system in line with the rest of the country on 1 July, 2017, and since then has witnessed commendable growth in its taxpayer base and revenue collections. The number of registered taxpayers has surged from 7,365 in FY 2017-18 to 18,477 in the current fiscal, marking a growth of nearly 151%.
The state has consistently demonstrated positive growth in GST revenue. Collections rose from Rs 227.94 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1,825.87 crore in FY 2024-25, reflecting improved compliance and a broader tax base.
In addition, under the excise sector, the department recorded revenue of Rs 299.36 crore in 2024-25, which is a 46.62% increase over the previous fiscal year.
To further facilitate taxpayer support, the department has operationalised 16 GST Seva Kendras across key locations in the state. These centres are equipped with biometric verification systems, ensuring Aadhaar-based authentication and physical premise verification to prevent fraudulent registrations.
The meeting was attended also by Finance, Tax, Excise & Narcotics Commissioner YW Ringu, Tax, Excise & Narcotics Commissioner Lobsang Tsering, CGST&CX Commissioner Shyam Kanu Mahanta, ACCI president Tarh Nachung, and Arunachal Tax Consultant Federation president Tarak Eha, among others. (DCM’s PR Cell)
