The Punjab government expects to garner Rs 8,000 crore in value-added tax (VAT) during 2009-2010.

Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said by clocking Rs 8,000 crore in VAT collection, Punjab is likely to record Rs 1,000 crore increase on last years collection.

Punjab will target Rs 11,000 crore VAT collection by March, 2011. Punjab reached Rs 5,000 crore revenue collection in 62 years where as we would double this figure in just four years, Badal added.

State excise and taxation commissioner A Venu Prasad told FE, Punjab is dot on the target. The state collected Rs 6,773.76 crore VAT in 2008-09 as against Rs 5,543. 49 crore during the corresponding period last year and in 2009-10 by aiming at Rs 8,000 crore, Punjab would surely defy slowdown in the economy. The state is also targeting to garner an excise revenue of Rs 2,000 crore for financial year 2009-10.

This could be possible only because of rationalisation of tax structure besides checking the leakage, the deputy chief minister claimed. In case of excise duty collection, Punjab had achieved a growth of Rs 500 crore during last three years alone.

Badal maintained that state was streamlining the revenue collection machinery besides blocking the loopholes to boost the revenue growth in the state.

He informed that the 1320 mw Rajpura Power plant had been awarded to the L&T group and the state government had been vigorously pursuing the case for sanction of coal link with Union coal ministry for 2640 mw Giddarbaha Thermal Project.