Total GST in Punjab Great increase in receipts by more than Rs 305 crore: Harpal Singh Cheema

Chandigarh: Reiterating the strong fiscal performance of Punjab, State Minister for Finance, Excise and Taxation Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema here today announced that the State has recorded an impressive growth of 14.59 per cent in Goods and Services Tax (GST) receipts during May 2026.

Finance Minister Cheema said, “The total GST collection for this month has reached Rs 2,400.52 crore, which represents a huge increase of Rs 305.71 crore compared to Rs 2,094.81 crore received during May 2025.”

Finance Minister made a big claim  

The Finance Minister stressed that this impressive growth is a result of sustained economic activity, better tax compliance and effective enforcement of enforcement measures by the Excise and Tax Department.

Giving detailed information in a press statement, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that Punjab’s GST. The efficiency has been impressive compared to national trends, with the total GST collection in the country being lower than the same month last year. That’s much more than the nearly 3.2 percent increase in revenue.

“While Punjab’s cash collection growth stood at 6.57 per cent, the state’s overall GST growth reached a high of 14.59 per cent, reflecting the strengthening of the state’s revenue base, improved tax compliance levels and highly effective tax administration measures,” he said.

Information given on enforcement achievements  

Giving information on enforcement achievements, Finance Minister Cheema said, “State Intelligence and Preventive Units (SIPUs) across Punjab have given excellent results by imposing fines of Rs 182.69 crore and recovering Rs 178.76 crore during May 2026 alone.”

He said that this huge recovery has been possible due to extensive data analytics, intelligence based investigations, precise verification campaigns and coordinated field operations across the state.

Revealing a major success against tax evasion, Finance Minister Cheema said, “Punjab Tax Department has successfully busted a fake billing racket of Rs 85.4 crore during May 2026 and arrested the director of a Ludhiana-based firm for availing fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs 15.56 crore through bogus transactions.”

He said SIPU’s investigation revealed that non-existent firms, fake invoices, fake debit notes and forged transportation records were used to commit tax fraud. Under this action, the director of the concerned firm was arrested under the Punjab Goods and Services Tax Act and recovery of approximately Rs 3 crore has also been done from the beneficiaries associated with this fraud.

CM Mann’s accurate leadership   

Concluding his press statement, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema reiterated that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is fully committed to protect government revenue and provide a level playing field to honest taxpayers by using advanced data analytics, close scrutiny of e-way bills, FASTag verification and secret information.

The Finance Minister reiterated the Government’s strict ‘zero-tolerance’ policy against fake billing and organized tax evasion networks and pledged that the Excise and Tax Department will continue to protect the interests of genuine taxpayers through a balanced approach of assistance, strict monitoring and uncompromising enforcement.