New Delhi, Sept 11: The Centre’s indirect tax collections have shown some improvement, posting a 7% growth till the end of August this year, on the back of higher excise revenues. Excise revenues took a hit in the first few months of the fiscal due to steep cut in rates on a host of non-merit goods and petro-products. But there has been a pick up since August, with collections posting a 10% growth as compared to August last year. With the manufacturing sector staging a recovery, collections may improve in the coming months.
Cumulative indirect tax collections topped Rs 51,460 crore, compared to Rs 48,096 crore up to the end of August last year. A break-up shows that excise collections grew by 7% and stood at Rs 32,600 crore, compared to Rs 30,457 crore up to the end of August ’02.
Revenues from customs also posted a near 7% growth and stood at Rs 18,864 crore, compared to Rs 17,639 crore till end-August last year. A month to month comparison shows customs collections were lower at Rs 3,967 crore, compared to Rs 3,951 crore during August ’02.
The Centre has budgeted excise revenues at Rs 96,791 crore and customs revenue at Rs 49,350 crore. Collections from service tax (in the books of accounts) have topped Rs 3,200 crore till the end of July.
Bureau Report