Punjab has recorded a 28% growth in the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) cash collections during October 2026, two-fold higher than the approximately 14% growth nationally, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Sunday.
Cheema said, “Punjab’s SGST cash collections increased from ₹ 803.07 crore in October 2025 to ₹ 1,030.29 crore in October 2026, registering an additional collection of ₹ 227.22 crore and a remarkable growth of 28.29%. Punjab has crossed the ₹ 1,000-crore SGST cash collection milestone for the second time during 2026, following the collection of approximately ₹ 1,182 crore in Aprils. The finance minister further shared that gross GST collections through October 2026 reached ₹ 2,716.60 crore against ₹ 2,393.22 crore in 2025, an increase of ₹ 323.38 crore and growth of approximately 14%. Speaking about the half-yearly collections during April-October, he said the gross figure reached ₹ 18,047.68 crore, compared to ₹ 15,505.66 crore during the corresponding period of the previous financial year, logging an additional collection of ₹ 2,542.02 crore. Highlighting the strong performance under VAT and CST, the minister said the combined collections under these two tax heads increased by 23.76% during October 2026, reaching ₹ 763.49 crore — ₹ 146.56 crore higher than ₹ 616.93 crore in 2025.
On the enforcement front, he said the excise and taxation department imposed penalties amounting to ₹ 111.12 crore during October 2026 through sustained action against tax evasion, irregular transportation of goods, fake billing and other violations of GST provisions.
Cheema said the encouraging growth across GST, VAT and CST reflected the Punjab government’s comprehensive approach towards strengthening revenue mobilisation across all major tax streams through improved monitoring, better compliance and effective administrative measures.
