Indirect tax collection increased by 4.6 per cent in the April-August period of this fiscal, while customs duty and excise duty collections rose marginally. Indirect tax collections comprising excise, customs and service tax stood at Rs 1,94,492 crore in the first five months of 2014–15 fiscal as against Rs 1,85,881 crore in the corresponding period of last year.
The growth at 4.6 per cent is far less than 25 per cent annual increase set in the Budget for the full 2014–15 fiscal. Excise collection rose marginally 0.5 per cent during the period to over Rs 61,415 crore. Customs also rose marginally by 0.3 per cent to over Rs 71,207 crore during the period against Rs 70,999 crore in the same period last year. Service tax collection, which has become a new focus area for revenue officials, grew by 15.1 per cent to Rs 61,870 crore during the period.
The indirect tax collection target for 2014–15 fiscal stands at Rs 6.24 lakh crore. Indirect tax collection in the month of August grew by 9 per cent to Rs 40,644 crore. Excise duty increased in month of August by 8 per cent to Rs 13,782 crore, whereas custom duty collection grew by 9.9 per cent to Rs 15,902 crore. Service tax increased in August grew by 9 per cent to Rs 10,960 crore against Rs 10,059 crore in the same month last year.