PPBM Urges Punjab Government to Release Pending GST & VAT Refunds; Warns of Statewide Protest

Ludhiana, November 24, 2025: The Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) today held a meeting at its office located at Mata Rani Chowk. Those present included State General Secretary Sunil Mehra, State Secretary Ayush Aggarwal, District President Parveen Goyal, District Chairman Pawan Lehar, District General Secretary Parveen Sharma, Ashwani Mahajan, Umesh Soni, Pawan Malhotra, and other prominent members.

The trade leaders expressed serious concern that despite repeatedly raising the issue for the last 7–8 months, the government has still not released the pending GST and VAT refunds.

They stated that although the government paid approximately ₹220 crore in August, nearly ₹650 crore remains pending and traders have yet to receive this crucial amount.

The leaders said that the matter had been raised multiple times with Ludhiana DETC Randhir Kaur, who had assured them that all pending refunds would be cleared soon, citing ongoing website upgradation as the reason for delays. The issue was also presented before Anil Thakur, Chairman of the Punjab Trade Commission, during his visit to Ludhiana. He, too, had assured traders of an early resolution. However, the leaders now feel that the government is not paying due attention to the concerns of Punjab’s trading community.

They highlighted that trade in Punjab is already weakening, and traders from other states hesitate to do business here due to deteriorating law and order and what they described as anti-business policies of the government.

The PPBM leaders stressed that tax refunds serve as essential working capital for small and medium traders. Due to prolonged delays, traders are being forced to take new loans, which become costlier because of the 0.25% stamp duty—yet even those payments are delayed since refunds are not being released.

They acknowledged that Punjab’s Industry Minister Sanjeev Arora has attempted to address the problem by ordering that the 0.25% stamp duty be charged only once, by combining loans taken against mortgaged land and business loans. However, they emphasized that small and medium traders must be given full relief from this stamp duty, as it is pushing them deeper into a debt trap.

Reiterating their demand, the leaders urged the government to immediately clear the long-pending GST and VAT refunds. They warned that the survival of small and medium traders—who are the backbone of Punjab’s economy—is at risk, and many may be forced to migrate out of the state like numerous industrialists.

The PPBM leaders also announced that a state-level traders’ meeting will be organized soon. If the situation does not improve, they will be compelled to hold a statewide protest against the government’s continued delay in releasing the refunds.