Indirect tax collection up 3.8% in April-May

Indirect tax collection in April- May, the first two months of the 2013-14 fiscal, grew by a meagre 3.8 per cent to Rs 71,379 crore (Rs 713.79 billion).

Customs duty collection for the two months was Rs 28,080 crore (Rs 280.8 billion), while service tax collection was Rs 19,710 crore (Rs 197.1 billion), finance ministry sources said.

Excise duty collection for the period was Rs 23,589 crore (Rs 235.89 billion).

Indirect tax collection in May grew by 4 per cent to Rs 37,695 crore (Rs 376.95 billion).

Customs duty collection for the month stood at Rs 14,997 crore (Rs 149.97 billion), while service tax and excise duty collections were Rs 8,998 crore (Rs 89.98 billion) and Rs 13,700 crore (Rs 137 billion).

The government has fixed the target of indirect tax collection, comprising customs, excise and service tax, at Rs 5.65 lakh crore for 2013-14.

In the 2012-13 fiscal, the government had revised the indirect taxes target to Rs 4.69 lakh crore as against the Budget estimates of Rs 5.05 lakh crore. It managed to exceed the revised target on the back of an aggressive tax collection drive.