Kolkata, Feb 16 (IANS): About Rs 12,000 crore of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) was collected from West Bengal during the current fiscal till December 2018, an official said on Friday.

The overall CGST collection for the entire fiscal from the state is expected to exceed the Rs 18,000-crore target for the financial year ending March 2019, the official said.

"The target for the state is to achieve Rs 18,000 crore CGST in this financial year. Till now Rs 12,000 crore have been collected until December 2018. We hope to exceed the target by the end of this fiscal," Pandiyaraj G.V., Assistant Commissioner of CGST and CX (South), said at a session organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce.

He said the filing of refund, which is still semi-online, would be addressed.

Pandiyaraj also said if a person or business fails to file GST return for two consecutive months, fine would be slapped.

According to him, e-way bill will not be issued unless the return is filed as the system would not work.