Chandigarh, October 18
In a major push to promote transparency and citizen participation in tax compliance, Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday announced significant enhancements to the popular ‘Bill Liyao Inaam Pao’ scheme. The scheme will now include a quarterly bumper draw, offering substantial cash prizes to incentivize public engagement.
Revealing this in a press communique issued here, the Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that, each quarter, participants will stand a chance to win a First Prize of Rs 1,00,000, a Second Prize of Rs. 50,000, and a Third Prize of Rs. 25,000. He said that the Taxation department will also introduce a dedicated upload option and prize distribution mechanism for bills related to the service sector, such as restaurants, salons, and boutiques, via the “Mera Bill” App to further streamline participation.
“In addition, a real-time Chatbot will be launched to assist users with queries, and the app will now support Punjabi alongside Hindi and English, ensuring broader accessibility for the general public”, said Cheema.
Highlighting the scheme’s success, Finance Minister Cheema shared that from April to August 2025, a total of 30,769 bills were uploaded, resulting in 1,263 winners who collectively received Rs 78,13,715 in prize money. He emphasized that all uploaded bills are rigorously verified by the Taxation Department, which has so far imposed penalties amounting to Rs 9.07 crore since the inception of the scheme, and recovered Rs 7.31 crore from discrepancies found in the submitted bills.
Launched in September 2023 by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the ‘Bill Liyao Inaam Pao’ scheme and the accompanying Mera Bill app aimed to foster a culture of responsible consumerism and tax compliance. The scheme excludes bills related to petroleum products including crude oil, petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, and natural gas, liquor, out-of-state purchases, and B2B transactions. Only bills from purchases made in the preceding month are eligible for the draw, ensuring fairness and operational integrity.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema reiterated the state government’s commitment to empowering citizens through innovative, transparent, and inclusive governance tools, and encouraged all residents to actively participate in the scheme to help build a more accountable Punjab.
