Chandigarh, Oct. 3 -- Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, on Thursday, said that the state registered gross GST collections of Rs.13,971 crore, a growth rate of 22.35%, during the first half of the financial year (April-September), a substantial increase compared to Rs.11,418 crore collected in the same period last year. "Over the first six months of this financial year, the state has recorded a gross GST revenue growth of Rs.2,553 crore as compared to the corresponding period last year," Cheema was quoted in a press communique issued here. He said that the state's year-on-year GST growth rate has risen dramatically from just 5% in the first half of FY 2024-25 to an impressive 22.35% in FY 2025-26. "This figure far exceeds the national GST growth rate of around 6%, unequivocally underscoring the success of Punjab's revenue mobilisation efforts. In addition to GST, Punjab has also shown encouraging results in other indirect tax categories. Collections under VAT and CST increased by 10%, while the Punjab state development tax (PSDT) registered a growth of 11% during September 2025 compared to the same month last year," the finance minister added. Mentioning the impact of recent GST rationalisation, the minister said that Punjab's performance has proven to be much stronger than the national average. "While most other states recorded negative growth trends in September 2025, Punjab continued to show resilience and reported double-digit growth. In September 2025 alone, the state collected Rs.2,140.82 crore, up from Rs.1,943 crore in September 2024, marking an increase of Rs.197.82 crore and a growth rate of 10%, an improvement compared to the modest 5% growth seen in the same period last year," he added. He attributed the success to the Punjab government's commitment to curb tax evasion and strengthen the state's fiscal position. The minister said that the taxation department intensified its enforcement actions against tax evasion from April to September 2025. During this period, Rs.246 crore of ineligible input tax credit (ITC) was blocked across 1,162 taxpayers. Furthermore, four major FIRs were lodged against fraudulent networks, including scams of Rs.500 crore in Ludhiana and Rs.550 crore in Fatehgarh....