DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Punjab registered a record 44.44 per cent growth in net goods and services tax collections at Rs 2,379.90 crore in June 2025, said Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday. Addressing the media here, Cheema said Punjab outpaced the national average in GST collection growth, firmly positioning itself among the top-performing states in tax mobilization despite facing national and geopolitical challenges, including border-related tensions.

The net GST collection last month stood at Rs 2,379.90 crore, reflecting a revenue growth of Rs 732.21 crore over the Rs 1,647.69 crore collected in June 2024.

This follows the monthly net growth trends of 15.35 per cent in April and 24.59 per cent in May.

The net GST collection during the first quarter of 2025-26 reached Rs 6,830.40 crore, even amidst the military conflict between India and Pakistan in May, compared to Rs 5,377.75 crore in the first quarter of 2024-25. This represents a growth rate more than four times the 6.41 per cent growth rate registered during the first quarter of 2024-25.

Cheema was accompanied by Secretary (Taxation) Ajit Balaji Joshi and Excise and Taxation Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal.

On this occasion, Cheema facilitated top five taxpayers of the state for their contribution to the state's economic growth.

Cheema also hit out at the previous SAD-BJP and Congress-led governments, citing their "failure" to check tax evasion and improve the state's fiscal health. He asserted that the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government has ensured consistent month-on-month and year-on-year growth. He noted a GST collection growth rate of 16.25 per cent in 2022-23, 15.51 per cent in 2023-24, and 12.84 per cent in 2024-25, registering a total collection of Rs 62,733 crore in three years.

In contrast, during the Congress regime from 2018-19 to 2021-22, the state merely collected Rs 55,146 crore. Similarly, during the SAD-BJP regime, the state witnessed only 4.57 per cent and 2.67 per cent growth in tax collections during 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively. "The AAP government has already collected more in three years than the Congress government collected in its entire five years," said Cheema.

The finance minister further stated that the previous Congress-led state government heavily relied on compensation amounting to Rs 30,070 crore without any future plan for state revenues.

"On the contrary, we enhanced field enforcement, targeted data-driven inspections, and improved taxpayer compliance to reduce tax evasion and safeguard the state's financial stability," he added.

(editor@dailyworld.in)