The mobile wings of Punjab Taxation Department’s State Intelligence and Preventive Units (SIPU) have imposed fines of Rs 15.37 crore to 873 vehicles seized for not having e-way bills and other required documents for the goods being carried, during the special checking drives conducted against tax evaders in August.
Sharing the information, the state Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Sunday said that during the month of August, SIPU took action against 1052 vehicles, whereas 70 cases were cases from the month of July.
“Total penalties of Rs 15,37,30,704 (Rs 15.37 crore) were imposed in 873 cases, while in pending 249 cases, fines of Rs 4.38 crore were likely to be levied…OUT of the total fine imposed, fines to the tune of Rs 14,90,94,501 (Rs 14.91 crore) have been collected and the outstanding fine will also be recovered soon,” he said.
Highlighting the highly performing SIPU teams, the Finance Minister said that action was taken against the maximum 184 vehicles by SIPU Shambhu, 172 by SIPU Ludhiana, 158 by SIPU Patiala, and 134 by SIPU Ropar. “Under this campaign against tax evaders, SIPU Shambhu imposed the maximum fines of Rs 3.21 crores and recovered fines of Rs 3.18 crores. Similarly, SIPU Patiala recovered Rs 2.67 crore out of the total fines of Rs 2.80 crore,” he added.
Congratulating the SIPU teams for the success of this campaign, Cheema encouraged them to improve their performance further as the Punjab Government is providing all kinds of modern technology and tools to the Department to provide all possible assistance to the honest taxpayers and tightening the noose around the tax evaders.
Revealing that more than 22,000 persons have downloaded the newly-launched ‘Mera Bill’ app, the Finance Minister appealed to the general public of the State to be a part of this campaign of strengthening fiscal health of the state through the mobile app ‘Mera Bill’.