Indirect tax mop-up beats revised estimate target of Rs 7.04 lakh crore

The CBEC chairman further said the draft model law on Goods and Services Tax is getting finalised

Total indirect tax collection has surpassed the revised estimate target of Rs 7.04 lakh crore for 2015-16, a senior finance ministry official said on Saturday.

"The final figures are still not known, because yesterday was bank holiday. But our indirect taxes revised estimate collection target was 7.04 lakh crore and tentatively provisional indirect tax collection figure is 7.09 lakh crore," Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) chairman Najib Shah told reporters here.

"We have achieved targets on each of the indirect tax levies — customs, excise and service tax," Shah added.

Read more from our special coverage on "INDIRECT TAX,"

• Letters: Not a thrilling prospect

The CBEC chairman further said the draft model law on Goods and Services Tax (GST) is getting finalised and it will be put on public domain very soon.

"GST has nothing to do with financial year...GST draft law is getting finalised. It will be put on public domain soon," Shah said.

The GST Bill, India's biggest indirect tax reform since independence, seeks to replace a slew of central and state levies, transforming the nation of 1.3 billion people into a customs union.

After it is approved by the Rajya Sabha, the legislation needs to be ratified by half of the 29 states so as to roll out GST possibly by October 1.

Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told PTI that he will reach out to the Congress again to persuade it to support the legislation.