Lucknow, May 26 -- Even as Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the state with the highest number of active Goods and Services Tax (GST) payers in the country with 21.82 lakh registered taxpayers, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday directed the state tax department to focus on "trust-based administration" alongside revenue growth and ensure quicker services for honest traders. He was reviewing the department's functioning with officers from headquarters and field units. "The role of the state tax department is extremely important in achieving the state's one-trillion-dollar economy target and the department must present a model of trust-based administration along with revenue growth," he said. The chief minister also directed officials to remove delays in GST registration, return filing, disposal of appeals and refund processing. He asked officials to expand trader outreach and awareness programmes up to the district and block levels. During the review, officials said Uttar Pradesh collected Rs.1,15,977 crore under GST and VAT during 2025-26, achieving nearly 98.8% of the revised estimate. The state ranked second nationally in GST collections after Maharashtra. Karnataka stood third. The department also recovered Rs.2,658 crore as GST arrears, registering a 228% rise over the previous year, while VAT arrear recovery rose 29% to Rs 800 crore. Enforcement units recovered Rs. 2,071 crore, up 13% over the previous year. For 2026-27, the state has been assigned a revenue target of Rs.1,98,071 crore, including Rs.1,49,956 crore from GST and Rs.48,115 crore from VAT. In April 2026 alone, revenue collection stood at Rs.10,896 crore, 9.6% higher than the corresponding period last year. The zonal review showed varying growth patterns, with Gautam Buddh Nagar posting 18% growth and collections of Rs.1,506 crore, while Saharanpur and Varanasi-I zones recorded growth of 35.1% and 33.2%, respectively. The chief minister directed low-performing zones to prepare special action plans and asked senior officials to increase field visits and direct interaction with traders. Officials also said action against tax evasion and bogus firms continued, with FIRs lodged in 477 cases and 168 arrests made. Input tax credit worth Rs.180 crore was blocked, while adjudication proceedings generated demands worth Rs. 2,250 crore. Officials said 63,797 appeals were disposed of during 2025-26, including 52,432 GST appeals and 11,365 VAT appeals. However, 20,697 appeals remain pending. Yogi directed time-bound disposal of all pending cases. The review also highlighted that the average time for GST registration disposal in Uttar Pradesh was eight days against the national average of 14 days, while GST refunds are processed in 27 days compared with the national average of 48 days. The chief minister said data-based monitoring and AI-driven analysis would improve tax administration efficiency and help check corruption....