Chandigarh, April 3 -- Punjab reported a 12.52% year-on-year growth in the goods and services tax (GST) collections during the 2025-26 financial year. The net GST revenue stood at Rs.26,601.12 crore in 2025-26 compared to Rs.23,642.08 crore in the previous fiscal, registering an increase by Rs.2,959.04 crore. "This growth, which came despite the introduction of GST 2.0 by the central government, reflects robust financial management and sustained economic recovery," finance and taxation minister Harpal Singh Cheema told reporters here while sharing the GST data for the financial year. Cheema said the state also recorded a substantial year-on-year increase in March 2026, with net GST collection rising from Rs.1,913.82 crore in March 2025 to Rs.2,231.93 crore, registering an absolute gain of Rs.318.11 crore and 16.6% growth. SGST cash collections in March were up by 18%. He added that the fiscal year 2025-26 reflected a clear three-phase revenue trajectory marked by strong initial gains, a policy-induced dip and a decisive recovery. Highlighting the challenges faced due to the GST 2.0 policy, the finance minister said a substantial increase during the first half of the year was followed by a dip in the October-December quarter, where net collection decreased by Rs.193.04 crore (-3%), largely due to disruptions arising from the policy changes. Cumulatively, this phase resulted in an estimated revenue impact of around Rs.400 crore. The state government's proactive interventions led to a sharp recovery in the January to March 2026 quarter, with gross collection increasing by Rs.564.97 crore (9%) and net collection by Rs.669.09 crore (11%), more than offsetting the earlier decline and restoring the growth trajectory, he added. He said that despite transitional challenges at the national level, Punjab demonstrated resilience and agility, indicating that the state government would continue to strengthen compliance frameworks, leverage technology, and support honest taxpayers to further augment revenue mobilisation. Punjab has set a GST collection target of Rs.32,000 crore in 2026-27. Amid a series of bank fraud cases in neighbouring Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Cheema said that no such fraud had been reported from any government department in Punjab. He added that the state government had introduced an e-Deposits Management System (e-DMS) portal, through which government departments and other entities deposit their funds with public and private sector banks through a transparent bidding process. "The cash management system has not only ensured that there are no irregularities, but the state government also received a grant of Rs.400 crore from the central government in 2025-26 for undertaking reforms," he said. He further pointed out that one of the private banks named in a Haryana case had even carried out reconciliation of deposits by Punjab government departments and other entities as a confidence-building measure. Replying to a query regarding the need for rationalisation of subsidies due to the rising burden on the state exchequer, the finance minister said there were no plans to make any changes to subsidies in power, transport and other sectors. "We are a welfare state," he added. Asked about the implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS), he said that the state government was examining the United Pension Scheme (UPS) notified by the central government....