Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal Terms GST Rate Revision a Milestone Decision

Ludhiana, August 15, 2025: A meeting of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal was held today at the main office located at Mata Rani Chowk. The meeting was convened following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address from the Red Fort on Independence Day. 
Present on the occasion were State General Secretary Sunil Mehra, State Secretary Ayush Aggarwal, District President Parveen Goyal, District General Secretary Parveen Sharma, Ashwani Mahajan, North Ludhiana President Arvind Jain, Harkesh Mittal, Rajesh Gupta, along with several other trade leaders.
The leaders described the Prime Minister’s decision to revise GST rates as a historic and milestone step by the government. They stated that the Prime Minister, after understanding the problems of traders, has proposed through the GST Council’s Group of Ministers (GoM) to retain only two slabs of 5% and 18%.
The meeting highlighted that this decision will bring relief to Punjab, which has been reeling under a prolonged slowdown. Now, 99% of goods will move from 12% to 5% slab, while 90% of goods will shift from 28% to 18%. The leaders said that Punjab has already witnessed nearly an 85% decline in investments. Due to poor law and order and anti-trade policies, neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar have lured away investments worth nearly ₹10 lakh crore by offering cheaper land and relief from bureaucratic hurdles.
At present, while the country’s total GST collection has crossed ₹1,90,000 crore, Punjab’s contribution is limited to just ₹2,300 crore. In comparison, Haryana collects four times more GST than Punjab.
The leaders further shared that a memorandum will soon be sent to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging them to keep GST rates for Punjab’s major hosiery and bicycle industries fixed at 5%.
They added that the removal of the 12% slab will particularly benefit the bicycle industry, as earlier the input tax was 18% and the output tax 12%, creating what is known as an inverted duty structure.
The trade leaders also pointed out that currently, 67% of government revenue comes from goods taxed at 18%. With the 28% slab abolished, this share could rise to 80%. This would encourage more people to trust the tax system, enroll under GST, and make business operations much easier.