Chandigarh:- Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema today announced here that the state has achieved a major financial success during the financial year 2025-26. He said that till November 2025, the state has registered a 16.03% increase in GST collection and received Rs 17,860.09 crore, while excise revenue remained at Rs 7,401 crore.

**A terrible fire broke out in a house due to incense, narrow streets and illegal encroachments blocked the way of the fire brigade
The Finance Minister, while giving credit for this success to the innovation and vigilance of the department, said that the Excise and Taxation Department has not only broken old records, but has also achieved great success in stopping tax evasion through the One-Time Settlement Scheme-2025 and modern data analytics.

**Joint action of Mataur Police and Excise Department; Smuggler smuggling liquor from Chandigarh arrested
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, while reviewing the performance of various sectors, said that GST collection has increased by Rs 2,467.30 crore compared to the previous year. He said that despite the reforms in GST rates (which reduced tax on essential items from 12% to 5%) in September 2025, tax collection remained stable due to the policies of the department. Along with this, VAT and CST collection was Rs 5,451.76 crore, which is 3.35% more than the previous year.
Talking about the Excise Department, he said that an annual target of Rs 11,020 crore has been set under the 'Excise Policy 2025-26'. He said that till November 2025, the department has registered an increase of 8.64% compared to the same period of the previous year. The Finance Minister said that under the campaign against liquor smuggling and illicit liquor, 3,860 FIRs were registered this year and 3,795 persons were arrested.
The Finance Minister further said that the One-Time Settlement Scheme-2025 has been a big achievement, under which 3,574 cases have been disposed of till December 18, 2025, Rs 52 crore has been recovered and big tax relief has been given to the traders. Tax and penalty worth Rs 344.06 crore has been collected with the help of Tax Intelligence Unit. Apart from this, Rs 2,185.96 crore has been deposited by monitoring those who did not file GSTR-3B returns.
Finance Minister Cheema lauded the State Intelligence and Preventive Units and said that penalties worth Rs 618.53 crore have been imposed between April and November 2025. He said that 5,111 officers have been trained through 144 special programs to increase the efficiency of the department. He said that these strategies will sustain the revenue growth in the remaining months of the financial year as well.