Chandigarh, Jan 15 (IANS) Punjab has collected Rs.8,000 crore in value added tax (VAT) during the current financial year, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said Friday.

Badal said the state hoped to collect Rs.11,000 crore in VAT by March 2011.

The state last year collected Rs.7,000 crore VAT.

'Similarly in the case of excise, Punjab has achieved a growth of Rs.500 crore during last three years,' Badal told reporters.