Punjab Assembly Session Highlights
Chandigarh – The Punjab Vidhan Sabha has approved the Punjab GST Amendment Bill 2025, along with the Seeds Punjab Amendment Bill 2025 and the Punjab Right to Business Amendment Bill.
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The Seeds Bill introduces strict action against fake seeds.
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The Right to Business Amendment Bill simplifies the process of setting up new industries in the state.
Punjab GST Amendment Bill 2025 Gets Approval
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (GST) Amendment Bill 2025 in the Assembly. He highlighted that while the Congress party initially introduced GST, it faced opposition, and later the BJP government approved it.
Cheema said, “If we do not approve these amendments, the state will face further losses.”
Financial Impact of GST on Punjab
The Finance Minister informed that:
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Since the implementation of GST, Punjab has already suffered a loss of ₹1.11 trillion.
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The state has lost around ₹25–30 crore in purchase tax revenue.
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With the new amendments, Punjab could face an additional ₹6,000 crore loss.
He further explained that GST has become a consumption-based tax, resulting in an annual revenue loss of ₹3,500–₹3,600 crore for Punjab.
Opposition Leader’s Remarks
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa referred to an article by former Union Minister P. Chidambaram to highlight concerns around GST and its long-term effects.
In response, Harpal Singh Cheema asked, “Who was the originator of GST? It was fully prepared at that time.”
GST 2 and Its Mixed Impact
The Finance Minister added that the recently introduced “GST 2” has indeed benefited the common people, but has caused further fiscal damage to the state’s revenue.
Speaker’s Remark and Final Approval
During the discussion, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan humorously remarked, “If we want to gain maximum benefit from GST, we must increase our population.”
The Punjab GST Amendment Bill 2025 was finally passed unanimously in the House.
