Chandigarh, Aug. 2 -- Finance, planning, excise and taxation minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday claimed that the state had once again broken records in tax revenue growth, with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection registering a net growth of 32.08% in July 2025 compared to the same period last year. He said for the last three years, the state had been setting record-breaking growth in tax revenue year-on-year and month-on-month. In a press statement, the finance minister highlighted that the net GST revenue collected in July 2025 was Rs.2,357.78 crore, a substantial increase of Rs.572.71 crore compared to the Rs.1,785.07 crore collected in July 2024. He further shared that up to July of the current financial year, net GST revenue had reached Rs.9,188.18 crore, marking an increase of Rs.2,025.36 crore over the Rs.7,162.82 crore collected during the same period in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Cheema attributed this growth to the policies implemented by the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government, which he claimed had fostered a conducive business environment and encouraged tax compliance. He said the department's enforcement actions had also curbed tax evasion, with a focus on providing assistance to honest taxpayers. Cheema revealed that the State Investigation and Preventive Unit (SIPU) recovered Rs.156.40 crore in penalties during the first quarter of FY 2025-26. This includes Rs.57.43 crore from road checks and Rs.98.97 crore from inspections and verifications. Further, SIPU uncovered two significant GST fraud cases, involving Rs.2,620.80 crore in fake transactions and estimated tax evasion of Rs.296.32 crore, leading to two FIRs in June 2025....