Chandigarh, Apr 6 (PTI) Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday said the state government has achieved record enforcement outcomes in the financial year 2025-26, marking a decisive shift towards intelligence-led action and robust revenue protection.
Cheema said, “Driven by the focused and intelligence-led actions of the State Intelligence and Preventive Units, the state taxation department imposed massive penalties amounting to Rs 1,383.11 crore during the year.” Out of this imposed amount, a staggering Rs 1,137.85 crore has already been recovered, reflecting a significant leap in enforcement efficiency and revenue realisation for Punjab, she said.
Inspection-based enforcement emerged as the primary driver, accounting for Rs 1,215.95 crore in penalties and Rs 972.15 crore in actual recoveries, he said in a statement.
Alongside this, road checking operations contributed Rs 165.71 crore, he said.
This performance marks a multi-fold improvement over 2024-25, where inspection enforcement resulted in Rs 147.28 crore imposed and Rs 41.53 crore recovered, and road checking recoveries stood at Rs 157.14 crore, he said.
This sharp surge in 2025-26 underscores a transformational shift in the state’s capacity for detection, enforcement and actual financial recovery, said Cheema.
Underlining the crackdown on fraudulent networks, he said the taxation department registered eight FIRs and carried out 15 arrests throughout the year.
Two of the most prominent FIRs involved seven individuals and exposed fraudulent transactions worth Rs 385 crore. These targeted operations uncovered tax evasion of Rs 69.57 crore orchestrated by firms engaged in issuing invoices without the actual supply of goods, he said.
Additional FIRs were registered across Bathinda, Mandi Gobindgarh, Ludhiana and Chandigarh to take decisive action against illegal transport of goods and deceptive billing networks, he said.
The department’s advanced intelligence network yielded several major detections, including uncovering Rs 900 crore of fake billing in gold transactions in Ludhiana, Rs 226 crore in illicit coal transactions across Mohali, Kharar and Kotkapura, and Rs 423 crore of bogus billing networks operating in Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh, he said.
Furthermore, complex investigations uncovered a Rs 200 crore fraud involving the ‘Pet Pooja app’, highlighting the massive scale and sophisticated nature of modern evasion networks, said Cheema.
Focused verification exercises led to the identification of 1,579 suspicious dealers, he said.
Following rigorous checks, 922 of these entities were found to be non-existent and their registrations were subsequently cancelled in close coordination with central authorities, he said.
Emphasising ITC safeguards, he noted, “Strong Input Tax Credit control measures resulted in Rs 244.82 crore being actively blocked and Rs 206.64 crore reversed. These proactive steps successfully safeguarded Rs 451.46 crore in state funds, alongside an additional Rs 19.08 crore realised through direct cash recovery,” said the finance minister. PTI CHS KSS KSS
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