Punjab Finance Secretary Raises Concern Over Dip in GST, Excise Revenues
By Author / May 18, 2025
Punjab GST News, GST Recent News – 2025
Alarming Revenue Decline in April
Punjab Finance Secretary Krishan Kumar has expressed serious concern over declining revenues from Goods and Services Tax (GST) and excise duties. In April 2025, the state collected only ₹3,977 crore—down from ₹4,534 crore in April 2024, marking a 12% decline.
GST and Excise Collections Take a Hit
GST revenue dropped by ₹525 crore, while excise collections fell by ₹228 crore. Specifically, GST revenue slipped from ₹2,112 crore last April to ₹1,587 crore in April 2025, showing a steep 25% fall.
Excise revenue also declined from ₹1,093 crore to ₹865 crore, a 21% decrease.
Urgent Communication to Departments
In response, Kumar has written to the Excise and Taxation Departments. Punjab, already facing financial pressure, heavily depends on GST and excise collections. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had earlier boosted these revenues, April’s figures are now a setback.
CADA Fund Receipts Decline Sharply
Departments are also failing to collect cess under the Punjab State Cancer and Drug Addiction Treatment Infrastructure Fund Act (CADA), 2013. Receipts have fallen from ₹79.09 crore in FY 2023-24 to ₹41.91 crore in FY 2024-25.
Departments involved 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 Women & Child Development
Missed Revenue and Audit Observations
An internal audit revealed the Transport Department failed to collect ₹13.49 crore in social security surcharges. This includes ₹4.97 crore from commercial vehicles and ₹8.52 crore from non-commercial vehicles.
The Urban Development Department also saw a 29% decline in map sale proceeds. Other departments reported losses such as:
- 99% decline in contributions from the Employees State Insurance Corporation
- 42% decline in CADA fund by the Health Department
- 53% drop in cultural heritage and development funds
Centre’s IGST Recovery Impacts Collections
A senior official explained that the net GST shortfall was partly due to the Centre recovering ₹859.24 crore in Integrated GST (IGST) from Punjab. The state’s gross GST collection for April was ₹2,653.77 crore—the highest ever for the month.
However, the Centre deducted the entire IGST amount in one go, despite Punjab’s request for staggered recovery. The net loss, including a reduced refund, amounted to ₹1,057 crore.
State Government Plans Meeting
Sources indicate that Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha may soon convene a meeting with departmental secretaries to discuss the revenue crisis.
An official noted, “The Finance Secretary must ensure timely salary payments and manage other expenditures. With Punjab already facing a cash crunch, plugging every revenue leak is vital.”
