New Delhi: Stimulus packages and economic
slowdown have hit the exchequer hard as indirect tax
collections shrunk by over 21 per cent to Rs 1.26 lakh crore
in the first seven months of this fiscal, against Rs 1.61 lakh
crore a year ago.
All the three components of indirect tax — excise,
customs and service tax — have posted negative growth in
collections.
Customs declined the most, by 31.8 per cent at Rs 45,412
crore indicating lower imports because of economic slowdown
and decline in petroleum prices.
Excise duty collection was also down by 18.8 per cent at
Rs 52,566 crore, a Finance Ministry statement said.
The pace of slowdown could be gauged from the fact that
services sector, which is a significant contributor to the
Indian economy, fetched 5.4 per cent lower revenue at Rs
28.926 crore.
Analysts attribute the fall in indirect tax collections
to both stimulus packages, which cut excise duty by 6 per cent
and service tax by two per cent, as well as economic slowdown.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 18:18