The News Freedom
Chandigarh, February 9
Punjab Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema, announced on Friday that a cumulative penalty of Rs 3,11,16,366 has been levied for 533 erroneous bills received until February 8, 2024, under the ‘Bill Liao Inam Pao’ initiative, with Rs 2,12,18,191 recovered thus far. He revealed that 918 participants have claimed prizes worth Rs 43,73,555 by submitting their purchase bills through the “Mera Bill App” by December 2023.
In a press release, the Finance Minister disclosed that out of 59,616 bills received as of February 8 under the ‘Bill Layao Inam Pao’ program, 52,988 have been verified, leaving 6628 bills pending verification. He noted that 1361 notices have been issued to respective vendors in this regard. Ferozepur taxation district recorded the highest number of erroneous bills at 189, incurring penalties totaling Rs 34,99,250.
Cheema elaborated on penalties imposed across different districts, including Rs 16,95,294 for 86 erroneous bills from the Faridkot taxation district, Rs 19,47,192 for 75 wrong bills from Patiala, Rs 33,62,324 for 61 erroneous bills from Jalandhar, Rs 50,43,524 for 51 wrong bills from Ropar, Rs 59,72,910 for 38 erroneous bills from Amritsar, and Rs 95,95,872 for 33 wrong bills from Ludhiana.
The Minister highlighted that a total of 1164 winners have been declared through online draws, with 246 winners chosen in January 2024. He emphasized that monthly online draws are conducted under the initiative by a committee appointed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government.