The North News
Chandigarh, December 23
Punjab has recorded a sharp rise in tax revenues in the 2025–26 financial year, with Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections increasing by more than 16% and excise earnings also showing robust growth, the state government said on Tuesday. Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said GST collections rose 16.03% year-on-year to ₹17,860.09 crore, while excise revenue touched ₹7,401 crore up to November 2025. He attributed the gains to tighter enforcement, the use of data analytics and the rollout of the One-Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme-2025.
He said GST receipts were ₹2,467.30 crore higher than the same period last year, reflecting improved compliance and an ongoing economic recovery. The minister added that collections remained steady even after GST rate rationalisation in September, which reduced taxes on essential goods from 12% to 5%. Revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Central Sales Tax (CST) rose 3.35% to ₹5,451.76 crore.
Under the Excise Policy 2025–26, which targets annual collections of ₹11,020 crore, excise revenue has grown 8.64% compared with last year, Cheema said. He noted that this follows a record performance in 2024–25, when excise revenue increased 16.36% to ₹10,723 crore. Enforcement efforts also intensified, with 3,860 FIRs registered and 3,795 arrests made this year to curb liquor smuggling and illicit distillation.
The minister said the OTS Scheme-2025 had disposed of 3,574 cases by 18 December, recovering ₹52 crore while offering relief to traders. The department’s Tax Intelligence Unit used big data tools to recover ₹344.06 crore in taxes and penalties, while action against GST return non-filers led to ₹2,185.96 crore in cash deposits.
He also praised State Intelligence and Preventive Units for increasing penalties to ₹618.53 crore between April and November 2025, nearly double the total for the previous year. To sustain enforcement, the department trained more than 5,100 officers through specialised programmes with national agencies including National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) and Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
The integrated approach, Mr Cheema said, had strengthened revenue protection and positioned the state for continued fiscal momentum through the remainder of the year.
