Chandigarh, 10 August (H.S.): Punjab Legislative Assembly today passed the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (PGST) Amendment Bill, 2026. The Bill was moved in the House by Punjab Finance, and Excise and Taxation Minister, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, aimed at promoting voluntary compliance, minimizing litigation, and streamlining GST-related procedures across the State.

Highlighting the transformative impact of the newly passed legislation, Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said, The proposed amendments to the PGST provisions are designed to fundamentally support our trade and industry sectors by removing procedural bottlenecks, improving liquidity, and easing the overall compliance burden on taxpayers.

The newly enacted amendments introduce key facilitative measures for the business community. Under the amendments to Sections 15 and 34, the legislation now permits the exclusion of post-sale discounts from the value of supply through the issuance of a credit note without mandating a prior agreement between the supplier and the recipient. Furthermore, it allows the issuance of credit notes for post-sale discounts extended for any commercial reason, drastically simplifying the adjustment of trade discounts for taxpayers.

Additional reliefs have been incorporated through amendments to Section 54. The legislation extends the benefit of a 90% provisional refund of Input Tax Credit (ITC) for cases involving an inverted duty structure. It also removes the previous lower threshold, permitting the refund of IGST paid on the export of goods even when the refund amount is less than ₹1,000.

Reiterating the government's commitment to economic growth, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema added, These carefully crafted changes are expected to significantly improve working capital liquidity and deliver much-needed financial relief to exporters and various other taxpayers throughout Punjab.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH