Chandigarh, March 17 – Aiming for greater transparency in governance, Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini, while presenting State Budget 2025-26 as the Finance Minister during the ongoing session of the Vidhan Sabha here today, proposed to install CCTV cameras in every ETO and DETC office room of the Excise and Taxation Department.
The Chief Minister proposed a revenue target of Rs 68,834.91 crore for the department in the year 2025-26. He said it is a matter of pride that our state has the second-highest growth rate among the large states of India in GST tax collection. Also, Haryana ranks first among such states in per capita GST tax collection. As against the revenue target of Rs 63,348 crore for the financial year 2024-25, Rs 58,693 crore has been deposited in the treasury as net revenue income till March 12, 2025.
For the convenience of taxpayers, the government has approved the One Time Settlement Scheme (OTS), which will be implemented from next week. Under this scheme, small taxpayers whose dues are less than Rs. 1 lakh will have their tax, interest, and penalty completely waived off. Taxpayers with dues between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will receive a 60% waiver on their interest, penalty, and tax amount. This scheme will provide relief to 1.50 lakh small traders. Those whose dues are between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 10 crore will receive a 50% waiver on interest, penalty, and tax. Overall, about 2 lakh small and medium traders will benefit from this initiative.
The Chief Minister said at present, there is no limit on the Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) to issue demand in tax matters. From 1 April 2025, in cases where the tax demand is more than Rs. 2 crore, the Deputy Excise and Taxation Officer (DETC) will now be authorized to issue the notice instead of the ETO.
The competent officer to conduct Suo Moto investigation under Section 61 of the Haryana GST Act, 2017, is currently the Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO). To reduce the problems faced by taxpayers, we have decided that Suo Moto investigation under this section can now be initiated only after prior approval from the Joint Excise and Taxation Commissioner (JETC), the Chief Minister added.
He said for the convenience of taxpayers, the audit of the last three to four years, to be conducted under Section 65 of the Haryana GST Act, 2017, will now be done in one go. This will ensure that traders do not have to visit the department repeatedly. Starting a new practice, a panel of Special Audit Chartered Accountants/Cost Accountants will be established under Section 66 of the Haryana GST Act, 2017.
Other suggestions received include GST exemption on agricultural equipment, automation of GST refunds, annual self-assessment instead of monthly, and increasing the invoice limit from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore. These suggestions will be advocated by the Haryana Government in the GST Council, the Chief Minister said.
He also announced setting up a new training institute for the training of officers and employees. He said he was confident that the implementation of the above new arrangements will increase the tax collection of the state.
