Governor of Nagaland Nand Kishore Yadav held a review meeting with the Department of State Taxes at Lok Bhavan, Kohima, on Monday, during which the department presented its organisational structure, revenue performance, initiatives, achievements, challenges and future roadmap.
The department currently has 11,592 active registered taxpayers across four zones, Dimapur, Kohima, Mokokchung and Chumoukedima. Its functions include taxpayer registration, timely filing and payment of taxes, scrutiny of returns, audits, enforcement, adjudication and recovery, appeals, refunds, and tax education and awareness.
The review highlighted a significant increase in tax revenue, which rose from Rs 1,427.03 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 1,597.51 crore in 2025-26, an increase of Rs 170.47 crore. This was substantially higher than the Rs 68.05 crore increase recorded in the previous year. In the first quarter of 2026-27, tax collection stood at Rs 466.98 crore, Rs 23.96 crore higher than the corresponding period of the previous year.
Over five years, total tax revenue increased from Rs 1,122.71 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 1,597.51 crore in 2025-26, representing 11.9% year-on-year growth in the latest financial year. GST remained the largest component, contributing Rs 1,181.88 crore, or 74% of total tax revenue, in 2025-26. GST collection increased from Rs 187.57 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1,181.88 crore in 2025-26, a growth of 530%. GST collection for the current financial year stood at Rs 450.35 crore up to July 2026.
The department highlighted several measures to strengthen tax administration and compliance, including G-RAMS, the GST Returns and Adjudication Management System, online Tax Clearance Certificate applications, online Professional Tax registration and payment, N-GAIN, the Nagaland GST Analytics and Intelligence Network, GST awareness campaigns, market surveys, compliance checks and GRDC-CAMS.
Enforcement measures include inspections against fake invoices and registrations, inventory checks and a counter at the Railway Parcel Office to monitor the movement of goods. Coordination between Central GST and State GST authorities was also emphasised.
Among the achievements highlighted were an in-house digital Professional Tax platform, recovery of Rs 17 crore in petroleum arrears as of 6 August 2026, and Nagaland’s ranking first in the Northeast and 16th nationally for the launch of Biometric Aadhaar Authentication Registration. The department also reported GST revenue growth of 37% up to December 2025 and 28.4% for 2025-26.
The department identified manpower shortages, the need for continuous IT infrastructure upgrades, increasing registration and return-filing workloads, and the growing volume of GST data requiring scrutiny and risk assessment as key challenges. It also cited difficulties in detecting unregistered taxpayers and tax evasion, verifying high-risk taxpayers, and monitoring works contracts, interstate transactions and other revenue-sensitive sectors.
Under its “Vision 2063 and Beyond”, the department has set revenue targets of Rs 2,400 crore by 2030, Rs 5,000 crore by 2038, Rs 11,000 crore by 2047 and Rs 50,000 crore by 2063. Seven key growth drivers identified include departmental expansion and restructuring, state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, a State Revenue Board, training and capacity building, promoting tax compliance as a people’s movement, establishing a legal cell, and providing basic conveyance and accommodation support for officials and staff.
The review was part of the Governor’s ongoing assessment of the functioning and performance of state government departments. Finance Commissioner Kesonyu Yhome, IAS, and officials of the State Taxes Department attended the meeting.
