Punjab's GST and Excise Revenues Record Negative Growth; Finance Secretary Issues Warning:

Punjab's GST and Excise Revenues Record Negative Growth; Finance Secretary Issues Warning The Punjab Finance Secretary has expressed his concerns as the revenue from two key sources has dropped. These sources include Goods and Services Tax (GST) and excise, which have declined in April. He has brought the issue to the attention of the administrative secretaries of the departments. The state has collected only Rs. 3,977 crore in tax revenue this April as compared to Rs. 4,534 crore during the same period last year. This indicates a 12% decline in revenue growth. In April 2025, there was a decline of Rs. 525 crore in GST receipts and Rs. 228 crore in excise receipts compared to the same month last year. The state excise collection was Rs. 1,093 crore in April last year. This year, however, it dropped to Rs. 865 crore, showing a decline of 21%. The state collected Rs. 1,587 crore GST in April, while in April last year, it collected Rs. 2,112 crore, marking a negative growth of 25%. Therefore, Finance Secretary Krishan Kumar has written to the excise and taxation departments to fix the issue. Punjab has largely depended on GST and excise collections to increase its revenue. After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took charge, the state had seen a rise in both GST and excise collections. For the first time ever, Punjab's excise revenue was more than Rs. 10,000 crore during the last financial year. The government is targeting to boost the GST revenue, but the collections made in April have not been so good at a time when higher revenue generation is being targeted. The communication further stated that several departments that were responsible for collecting cess under the Punjab State Cancer and Drug Addiction Treatment Infrastructure Fund Act (CADA), 2013, have failed to do so. Therefore, the receipt under this Act has seen a decline, decreasing from Rs. 79.09 crore in the 2023-24 financial year to just Rs. 41.91 crore in 2024-25. The departments that collect CADA include agriculture and farmers' welfare, excise and taxation, health and family welfare, housing and urban development, industries and commerce, local government, medical education and research, public works, PIDB, revenue and rehabilitation, rural development and panchayats, social security, and the development of women and children. Additionally, the communication stated that an internal audit organisation conducted an audit of the social security surcharge. It was found that the transport department could not collect Rs. 13.49 crore in revenue under the provisions of the Act. The audit found out that the transport department failed to collect Rs. 4.97 crore from commercial vehicles and Rs. 8.52 crore from non-commercial vehicles. Additionally, the Urban Development Department saw a 29% decline in sale proceeds from maps, while contributions from the Employees' State Insurance Corporation saw a negative growth of 99%. The Health Department experienced a 42% drop in collections for the CADA fund, and the Cultural Heritage, Maintenance, and Development Fund saw a 53% decrease. As per sources, Chief Secretary K A P Sinha is likely to schedule a meeting of the secretaries of the departments to discuss the problem. A senior government official stated that the decline in GST collections was due to the central government recovering Rs. 859.24 crore under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).