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Revenue collections during Apr-Oct up 14.8%

India's tax receipts grew 14.8 per cent to Rs 1,021.95 billion in the first seven months of the current financial year beginning April, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday.

Tax collections were Rs 890.37 billion in April-October last year, the official said.

India's tax collections have failed to keep pace with the 17 per cent growth logged in the first half of the current year.

Analysts have said revenue collections could be hit as the country's worst drought in 15 years affects growth in the coming months.

The Reserve Bank of India has cut the country's GDP estimate for the current year to 5.0-5.5 per cent from 6.0-6.5 per cent, citing a demand slowdown due to the drought.

It also cut the key bank rate by 25 basis points to a 29-year low of 6.25 per cent in a bid to insulate the economy from the affect of the drought.

India's six core sectors have shown some signs of a slowdown, growing just 1.7 per cent in September compared with 4.1 per cent in the same month last year.

The official, who did not want to be identified, said that indirect taxes, which include customs and excise duties, rose 15.5 per cent to Rs 695.21 billion from Rs 602.04 billion.

Excise revenues, which mirror manufacturing activity in the economy, grew 18.18 per cent to Rs 438.14 billion in April-October, while customs duties were up 11.13 per cent to Rs 257.06 billion.

Direct tax receipts in April-October rose 13.3 per cent to Rs 326.74 billion from Rs 288.33 billion in the year-ago period.

Tax paid by companies during this period was Rs 155.61 billion while personal income tax receipts totalled Rs 169.02 billion.

The government has set a net tax target of Rs 1,729.65 billion for 2002/03 (April-March).

A deep industrial slowdown had led to a sharp decline in tax receipts last year, widening the country's fiscal deficit to 5.7 per cent of gross domestic product.

The fiscal deficit at the end of September was 42.6 per cent of budget estimates for 2002-03. India has set a target of reining in its fiscal deficit at 5.3 per cent of GDP or Rs 1,355.24 billion in 2002-03.

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