Private banks have shown interest in the multibanking system started by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) for collecting central excise duties and service taxes.
H Prabhakar Rao, principal chief controller of accounts, CBEC, said with the launch of multi-banking system in the commissionerates of Mumbai, Belapur, Raigad and Thane, corporates will have the convenience of paying their excise duties and service tax at any of the 340 designated branches of nine public banks.
State Bank of India, Bank of India, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India and Canara Bank are the nine PSBs.
Also Read
The Mumbai commissionerate accounted for 11 per cent of the Rs 90,500 crore collected by way of central excise and service tax in 2002-03.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Rakesh Mohan today expressed concern at the declining tax to GDP growth ratio over the last decade despite the economy growing at a fair clip.
CBEC is working out online tax management system through the electronic clearing system of RBI especially for the direct refunding of the tax payer's money. It is also in talks with the RBI for efficient cash management system of select ministries.
India's tax-GDP ratio is very low at 9.6 per cent in 2002-03 (8.1 per cent in 2001-02) as large number of prospective tax-payers were yet to be tapped and brought under the tax net. This ratio was a tad higher at 10.1 per cent in 1990-91.
"Though the economy has grown at 6 per cent in the last 10 years, the low tax to GDP ratio is not easily understandable. it could be that the tax evasion has gone up," Mohan said at the launch of the multi banking system for collection of central excise duties and service tax.
He observed that with the high level of economic activity coupled with the same level of compliance the tax collections ought to actually go up.
"Concerted efforts ought to be made for increasing the efficiency of tax administration," Mohan said and added that the measures suggested by the Vijay Kelkar panel to establish a tax information network to identify tax evaders will be useful.