E-filing of value-added tax (VAT) returns, made mandatory for certain categories of tax payers by the Punjab government, has received good response in the first phase, a government official said here Monday.

E-filing of VAT returns was made mandatory for people involved in inter-state sales and purchases and exports, and for those businesses whose turnover was Rs.5 crore or more, said A. Venu Prasad, excise and taxation commissioner of Punjab.

Tax payers falling under these categories have to file VAT returns electronically by Oct 30, if payments are to be made in cash. So far, we have received an overwhelming response with over 20,000 tax payers using this mode for filing the returns, Prasad said.

The government has selected three Chandigarh-based software companies to provide help to tax payers for e-filing returns.

These service providers would assist taxpayers with data entry of the returns. Staff-members of certain cyber-cafes and computer centres have also been trained to provide these services, said Prasad.