HP Tax Dept collects over Rs 26,000 crore since 2023

Shimla, Nov 20 (PTI) Showing a steady growth in revenue collection over the last three years, the state Excise and Taxation Department has collected over Rs 26,000 crore since 2023, an official spokesperson said on Thursday.

This includes Rs 10,248.56 crore in the financial year 2023-24. The collection increased to Rs 10,880.57 crore in 2024-25, while in 2025-26, the department has collected Rs 5,536.30 crore till September 2025.

These figures show that revenue from Goods and Services Tax (GST), Excise, Value-added tax (VAT), Passenger and Goods tax (PGT) and other taxes has been rising consistently since 2022-23.

The state government has introduced various reforms to strengthen the transparency and enhance the functioning of the department. It includes the Auction-cum-Tender system for the allotment of liquor vends in 2023-24 and 2024-25, a statement issued here said.

This policy change helped the government increase its excise revenue, which rose from Rs 2,147.04 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2,631.30 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 2,776.41 crore in 2024-25.

The spokesperson said that, as per the budget announcements, the state government introduced a Milk Cess of Rs 10 per bottle of liquor.

This brought an additional Rs 144.84 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 141.92 crore in 2024-25, which was being used to support milk production and help livestock farmers.

A Natural Farming Cess was also imposed from 2024-25, generating Rs 24.62 crore to encourage natural farming in the state. For 2025-26, a WDA Cess (Children of Destitute Women and Disabled Parents) of Rs 1.50 per bulk litre has been levied on the export of Indian and foreign liquor to support children of widowed or destitute women and disabled parents.

The department has also taken important steps in digital governance. The Excise e-Governance Project, launched in April 2023, now enables online issuance of passes and permits along with digital payment of all fees, the spokesperson said.

He said that to further help taxpayers, a new online application and mobile app were introduced in September 2024. These provide facilities, such as e-registration, e-return filing for VAT and CST, online tax payment, e-declaration at check-posts, online issuance and verification of statutory forms and updated departmental information on the portal. PTI BPL BAL BAL