HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, June 16: Nagaland’s commissioner of taxes Abhinav Shivam said the state is not a frontrunner in GST collection in average or per capital terms.
He noted that revenue leakages through evasion have severely affected the state share.
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Addressing the inaugural programme of the five- day onsite training on GST for Nagaland state tax officers at the office of the commissioner of state taxes, Dimapur, Shivam said Nagaland has a unique and complex history.
“Our geography, remoteness, infrastructural challenges, and political complexities have led to a legacy of underdevelopment,” he observed adding the state struggled to establish revenue-generating industries and enterprises.
Pointing out that Nagaland relies heavily on tax revenues to meet its financial and developmental needs, he said optimising tax revenue is not merely an administrative objective but also a developmental imperative.
“Progress of our people, the services we deliver, the salaries we dispense, the roads we build, the salaries we disburse all rest upon our tax collection,” Shivam added.
Shivam also acknowledged that in recent times, Nagaland has made modest headlines in terms of tax revenue recovery and compliance efforts.
He said the state taxes department recovered over Rs 10 crore in revenue arrears from February 2025 to May 2025.
Despite constraints, he said, the department is making steady, strategic progress.
He said the GST is dynamic and it demands that “we stay updated, trained, and alert to the nuances of reforms and policy changes that occur with remarkable frequency”.
Also, noting that taxation unfortunately remains one of the most misunderstood concepts, often seen in a negative light, Shivam said, “We need to understand that the sprawling network of roads, developmental schemes, infrastructure, all are financed from the proceeds of tax which will change with a comprehensive public awareness campaign beginning from July.”
For Nagaland to thrive, tax compliance must become a people’s movement, he stressed.
Shivam extended his gratitude to the National Academy of Customs, indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN), Shillong, led by its additional commissioner Issac R Kharkongor, for conducting the training.
