Indirect tax collections figure on Wednesday corroborated dismal performance by manufacturing this financial year as shown by advance GDP numbers yesterday. Excise duty collections again contracted in January, refusing to show a firm rising trend this financial year. Excise duty collections growth was in negative zone at 1.1 per cent in January to Rs 12,319 crore against Rs 12,458 crore in the same month a year ago.
Though the fall in excise duty collections is marginal, it certainly shows that manufacturing in the month will not at least perform extremely well.
Excise duty collections rose 9.7 per cent in December, after falling 6.5 per cent in the previous month. Again, the mop-up was down 8.7 per cent in September. Analysts said fall in excise duty may only partially reflect manufacturing activities, since the tax rate was abolished on diesel in June this financial year. Till then, the government imposed Rs 2.6 a litre basic excise duty on diesel. Yesterday, advance GDP data showed that manufacturing will fall to 3.9 per cent this financial year which is below even 4.3 per cent in the crisis period of 2008-09.
However, elsewhere indirect tax collections were sound till January of this financial year.
Altogether, indirect tax collection jumped 15 per cent in the April-January period to Rs 3.17 lakh crore and the revenue department has said it hopes to meet the Budget target. Total collection of indirect taxes — Customs, Central Excise and Service — was Rs 2.75 lakh crore in the 10 month period of the previous financial year.
In the 10-month period, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has been able to achieve nearly 81 per cent of Budget estimate for the current financial year.
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"At the present rate of growth, CBEC should be able to achieve the target of Rs 3,92,908 crore (for the current financial year)," the finance ministry said in a statement.
In first 10 months, even the growth in excise collection was positive. Excise collection jumped 6.8 per cent to Rs 1.17 lakh crore.
Service tax collection during the period continued to be strong, with a 37 per cent growth to Rs 75,440 crore.
The total mop-up from customs duty rose 12.7 per cent to Rs 1.24 lakh crore during the 10-month period.
In the first 10 months of this financial year, the Centre has also collected Rs 3.47 lakh crore from direct taxes, up 9.28 per cent over Rs 3.17 lakh crore in the corresponding period of last financial year. The government mopped 65 per cent of the Budget Estimates of Rs 5.32 lakh crore.
There are apprehensions that while indirect tax collections estimates in the Budget for 2011-12 would be met, there could be shortfall in the range of Rs 15,000-20,000 crore in direct tax collections.
According to PTI, CBDT chairman Laxman Das has written to top income tax officials that the budget estimates are non-negotiable and asked them to take up the "challenge" of filling the gap.