DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday said the state's GST collection has crossed the Rs 10,000-crore mark for the first time in the first six months of this fiscal. The Minister for Finance, Planning and Excise and Taxation said the state has seen a 22.6 per cent year-on-year growth in GST collection so far in the current fiscal. He further said that in the first six months of the last financial year, GST collection stood at Rs 8,650 crore, whereas during the current year the state has earned Rs 1,954 crore more, taking the total GST collection to Rs 10,604 crore. The GST collection for September this year was Rs 1,710 crore compared to Rs 1,402 crore in September 2021, the minister said in a statement. He also said that the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government had estimated a total GST collection of Rs 20,550 crore for the financial year 2022-23. "The state has achieved more than 50 per cent in the first six months," Cheema said, adding that the state is expected to see healthy growth in GST collection during the upcoming festival season. The Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2022 was recently passed in the state Assembly to plug all loopholes besides stopping bogus billing, which would not only benefit the traders but would also increase the own revenue of the state, he noted. AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the manifold increase in the GST collection and said it's the result of work done by the Punjab government. "Very nice. Work done with clear intentions and honesty has started showing results. The people of Punjab and businessmen, all are supporting," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi. "Punjab is on the path of progress." (editor@dailyworld.in)