Chandigarh, July 18: The Patiala GST division has emerged as the fastest-growing division in Punjab, clocking an impressive 40% growth rate in GST collections during the first quarter of fiscal year 2025-26, outpacing all other divisions. This was revealed during a high-level review meeting chaired by Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema to assess the quarterly performance of the Excise and Taxation Department.
Following Patiala in growth were the Ropar division with 34.97% and Amritsar division with 30.26%. Notably, Ludhiana division registered the highest gross GST collection across the state, bringing in ₹1,998.76 crore, marking a 23.89% increase from the ₹1,613 crore collected in the same period of FY 2024-25.
Other first-quarter collection figures included:
- Ropar division: ₹1,315.66 crore (up from ₹975.53 crore)
- Amritsar division: ₹687.19 crore (up from ₹527.54 crore)
- Patiala division: ₹679 crore (up from ₹484.98 crore)
Finance Minister Cheema lauded the efforts of the departmental teams in these top-performing divisions and urged other divisions to learn from their best practices. He held detailed discussions with the Deputy Commissioners State Tax (DCSTs) and division in-charges to identify both strengths and areas needing improvement.
Cheema also reviewed the status of GST and VAT arrears, instructing officers to adopt innovative recovery strategies and ensure timely disposal of pending inspection cases. He directed to strictly follow-up on all GST and VAT appeal cases, including those newly instituted in the current fiscal quarter.
A key focus of the meeting was the performance of the enforcement wings of the Excise and Taxation departments. The Minister reviewed the progress of the State Intelligence and Preventive Unit (SIPU) in combating tax evasion. The Excise teams also presented updates on their efforts to control illicit liquor trade and the smuggling of alcohol into Punjab from other states.
Expressing satisfaction with the enforcement efforts, Cheema directed the Excise teams to further intensify enforcement activities to completely eliminate bootlegging in Punjab. He reiterated that no individual involved in hooch tragedies or illicit liquor trade would be spared, and strict legal action must follow in all such cases.
Prominent among those present at the meeting were Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Financial Commissioner, Excise, Dhirendra Kumar Tiwari; Secretary, Taxation, Ajit Balaji Joshi; and Excise and Taxation Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal.
