Indirect tax collection rises 45% in Apr-Aug 2010

Indirect tax collection for the first five months of this fiscal (April-August 2010) at Rs 124,170 crore showed an increase of 45% over the same period last year. The highest increase was in customs duty collection, which went up by 67% to Rs 51,866 crore. This showed imports have been higher on capital investments made by the industry.

Excise duty mop up indicated an increase of nearly 42% to Rs 49,672 crore, while collections from service tax during April-August was Rs 22,632 crore, an increase of 20% compared to the corresponding period of the last year. Revenue collection has so far been on the budgeted target as the direct tax collection at Rs 100,112 crore in the first five months indicated a growth of 14% over the same period last year. It was Rs 87,888 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Growth in corporate income tax was 17% or Rs 57,750 crore as against Rs 49,339 crore last year in the same period. Personal I-T, including securities transaction tax, residual FBT and BCTT, grew at 9.68% to Rs 42,217 crore as against Rs 38,491 crore last year.

Higher tax collection, according to sources, is also on account of withdrawal of tax incentives also called stimulus by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in his budget for 2010- 11.

The robust tax collections come in the backdrop of 13.8% industrial growth in July, which is nearly double the rate of 7.2% recorded during the corresponding month last year. Industrial growth stood at 11.4% during the first four months of this fiscal against 4.7% in the year-ago period.