Punjab Clears Electricity Subsidy Bill Of Rs 20,200 Cr, Witnesses Revenue Surge

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Friday said the state has cleared its entire electricity subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore for the last financial year and has witnessed a jump in excise and GST revenue.

Mann, addressing the media here, said the state has registered a revenue of Rs 8,841 crore for the financial year 2022-23, up by 41.41 per cent as against revenue of 2021-22.

He said his government has set a target of 10,000 crore in excise revenue for the current fiscal, as he criticised the previous governments for allowing “liquor mafia” in the state.

Mann said that the state has registered a 16.6 per cent jump in the Goods & Services Tax collection, earning Rs 18,126 crore in revenue for the year 2022-23.

“We are now among the top states in terms of GST collection,” he said.

Mann said the state has registered a rise of 78 per cent in stamp duty and fee collection in the month of March. The government had earlier announced an exemption of 2.25 per cent on stamp duty and fees on registration of properties.

The CM said his government has cleared the total electricity subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore for the last financial year, and asserted that the government will ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people.

“In 2022-23, which is the first year when the Punjab government paid the entire subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. Not even a single penny was pending towards the PSPCL,” he said.