Govt exceeds indirect tax collection estimate

The government today said indirect tax collections for FY2010-11 have exceeded the revised estimate of Rs 3.34 lakh crore for the fiscal on the back of strong economic activities and the partial withdrawal of fiscal stimulus measures.

According to Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman S Dutt Majumder, the Finance Ministry expects at least Rs 7,000 crore more than the revised estimate for the last fiscal.

"... Over and above the revised estimate, we expect Rs 7,000 crore minimum, it may be more also," Majumder told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham event.

He further said the Finance Ministry has exceeded the revised target by Rs 6,000 crore, with the total indirect tax collection at Rs 3.40 lakh crore already.

"I expect more. This does not take into consideration customs collection of March 30 and 31. That should be another Rs 1,000 crore," Majumder added.

He said that customs collection up to March 29 this year stood at Rs 1.32 lakh crore, while the service tax mop-up was Rs 70,200 crore.

The upward revision in the tax collection target was due to robust economic growth in the last fiscal. The country's GDP is expected to grow 8.6% in 2010-11.

The buoyancy in indirect tax collections during the last fiscal can also be attributed to partial withdrawal of economic stimulus measures in the Budget 2010-11.

In the Budget 2010-11, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee raised excise duty by 2% to 10% as part of a plan to gradually withdraw the incentives given to industry to combat the impact of the global financial meltdown.