Punjab sees 32% surge in July GST collection

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday said the state’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection had registered a net growth of 32.08 per cent in July-2025 when compared with the same period last year.

He said the net GST collection in July this year was Rs 2357.78 crore, a substantial increase of Rs 572.71 crore against last year’s Rs. 1785.07 crore.

He said the state’s impressive growth trajectory was also evident in the year-to-date figures.

“Up to July of the current financial year, net GST revenue has reached Rs 9,188 crore, marking an increase of Rs 2025.36 crore over Rs 7162.82 crore collected during the same period in the 2024-25 fiscal,” he added.

The minister said the State Investigation and Preventive Unit (SIPU) recovered Rs 156.40 crore in penalties during the first quarter of 2025-26. The SIPU uncovered two significant GST fraud cases, involving Rs 2,620.80 crore in fake transactions and estimated tax evasion of Rs 296.32 crore.

The minister said the Punjab Government was making a significant progress in processing pending GST refund applications, sanctioning 1,408 applications in July, amounting to a total refund of Rs 241.17 crore.

He said as of June 30 this year, there were 3,452 pending refund applications, totalling Rs 832.93 crore.

He said in July, refunds totalling Rs 241.17 crore were sanctioned, comprising Rs 57 crore for the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) component, refunded directly from the state treasury.