Punjab Finance and Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced on Tuesday that the state has achieved a significant fiscal milestone in financial year 2025-26, driven by a 16.03 per cent surge in GST collections amounting to Rs 17,860.09 crore and a robust excise revenue collection of Rs 7,401 crore up to November 2025.
Attributing this success to a harmonious framework of innovation and vigilance, the finance minister highlighted that the Excise and Taxation department has not only surpassed previous benchmarks but also successfully implemented the One-Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme-2025 and advanced data analytics to prevent tax evasion.
Reviewing the sectoral performance, Cheema said GST collections grew by Rs 2,467.30 crore over the corresponding period of the previous year, reflecting the state’s focus on economic recovery and improved taxpayer compliance. He said that even after the GST 2.0 rate rationalisation in September, which reduced taxes on essential items from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, the department's targeted initiatives kept cash tax collections steady.
Simultaneously, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Central Sales Tax (CST) collections reached Rs 5,451.76 crore, marking a 3.35 per cent increase compared to the prior year.
“The Excise Commissionerate has also done exceptionally well under the Excise Policy 2025-26, which set an ambitious annual collection target of Rs 11,020 crore. By November 2025, the department has already registered an 8.64 per cent increase in excise revenue over the same period last year,” said the finance minister, adding that this follows the record-breaking performance of the previous financial year, where revenue grew by 16.36 per cent to reach Rs 10,723 crore.
He said the taxation department also leveraged its indigenous tax intelligence unit (TIU) and big data analytics to recover Rs 344.06 crore in taxes and penalties through tool-generated insights.
Also read: Punjab hits record excise revenue this year: Harpal Cheema
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