Before the GST was introduced, Tripura received only Rs 4.21 crore as Central Sales Tax (CST) in the financial years 2016-17, whereas the state collected Rs 982.50 crore IGST in the financial years 2022-23 from Inter-State trade exceedingly raised to three digits, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

After inaugurating the newly constructed GST Bhavan in Netaji Chowmuhani area of the Mantribari Road of Agartala on Friday afternoon said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection and devolution in the Northeastern states has been a success.

Earlier, in the day Sitharaman arrived Agartala for a one-day state visit and she was given a rousing welcome and received at the airport by the Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee.

While addressing the gathering in an open auditorium of the GST Bhavan, Sitharaman highlighting the benefits of GST said that it proves how the introduction of GST is strengthening the economy of the country and the state like Tripura.

 Also, with GST Bhawan, it becomes important to carry out outreach along with the state to make people aware of benefits of GST and encourage more people to get enrolled.

Sitharaman congratulated the people of Tripura on inauguration of GST Bhavan and emphasised the importance of good infrastructure which can be leveraged to serve taxpayers in a better manner resulting in improved revenue collection. The building will help the common citizens to come and get facilitated in GST related matters. It increases accessibility of officers to the public. This will help the common citizens to come and get facilitated in GST related matters. During the address, the Finance Minister highlighted that post GST, revenue generation for Tripura has been extremely favourable.

Union Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said that infrastructure is important but is relatively easier to create. More difficult task is to maintain it over and ensure that it is used effectively.

Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Vivek Johri said that the government is striving to ensure a good working environment both for officers and the trade. He stated that this is the second GST Bhavan in the North East and that proposals for GST Bhavans in 3 other Northeast states are at various stages of approval.

Earlier, on Friday morning Sitharaman addressing the Investiture Ceremony of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) at Guwahati, said that the eight states in the region have seen a compounded yearly GST increase of 27.5 per cent, according to the 2023 RBI assessment on state budgets.

According to Sitharaman, GST has brought about "tremendous improvement in the system that has ultimately benefited the people as well”. There are 25 operational Land Customs Stations (LCS) in the northeast, of which 15 have electronic facilities.

The Union Minister also encouraged the authorities to make sure that by December, all LCSs will be equipped with computerized tools that will aid in detecting and preventing smuggling.

Yogendra Garg, Chief Commissioner CGST & Customs, Guwahati along with other top officials of the Finance department were also present during inauguration of GST Bhavan.

In the evening the Union Finance minister chaired a review meeting of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) with the managers and MDs of all regional and rural banks of Northeast in a hotel at Agartala and discussed ways and means of easier credit flow, retaining the viability of the banks. She also stressed on the importance of easier bank finance for upcoming start-ups and new ventures as also for poor traders and farmers. Before the meeting of RRBs, Sitharaman inaugurated a mobile ATM service and banking correspondent of Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB) at Hotel Polo Tower complex in Agartala.

On Friday night, she also participated in a dinner hosted by the government of Tripura. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a three-day visit to Assam and Tripura from Thursday night and as per official schedules, on Saturday morning she will visit the Integrated Check Posts (ICP) at Srimantapur , at the outskirts of Agartala. The finance minister will also visit the ICP Jetty and Bangladesh border gate. From ICP Srimantapur, Sitharaman will again arrive at the hotel in Agartala and after lunch, she will leave the city towards Agartala airport for Delhi.