India's Q1 indirect tax collection rises over 53 per cent to Rs68,462 crore

Indirect tax collection in the country, including customs, central excise and service tax, rose over 53 per cent to Rs68,462 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal (April-June 2010-11) against Rs44,692 crore in the April-June 2009-10 quarter.

Indirect tax mop-up in the April-June 2009-10 quarter had fallen 29.3 per cent to Rs44,692 crore from Rs63,252 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, official data showed.

Of the total indirect tax mop-up during the first quarter of the current financial year, customs contributed Rs30,288 crore, central excise Rs27,773 crore and service tax Rs10,401 crore, according to provisional figures available at field formations and office of controller of accounts.

The government is regularly monitoring revenue collection and undertaking analysis of the causal factors at national, zonal and commissionerate levels and is also strengthening audit and anti-evasion measures to increase the level of tax compliance, minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Friday.

Total tax receipts, including direct taxes, during the first quarter of the current year were Rs83,994 crore while total expenditure stood at Rs2,42,208 crore during the quarter.

The minister also informed the house that during the curreny fiscal the government also recovered Rs9,748 core of last fiscal's total outstanding tax demand of Rs75,509 crore against companies. The balance demand includes demand locked-up in appeals before CITs (appeal), ITATs, high courts and the Supreme Court, he added.

He said the government is not maintaining any separate database regarding the outstanding demand against multi-national companies (MNCs).