Over Rs 74,000-cr unrealised tax revenue; CAG for close review

Over Rs 74,000 crore in central excise and service tax revenue is pending realisation for 2012 -13 on various grounds, including that of injunction or appeal.
A total of 37,652 cases involving revenue of Rs 74,861.71 crore -- Rs 53,521.86 crore related to central excise and Rs 21,339.85 crore as service tax -- is pending in the 'call book' as of March 31, 2013, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said in its report.
A call book acts as a set of records of those central excise and service tax cases where the demand could not be realised due to reasons such as the department having gone in appeal and injunction from courts, etc.

The CAG, while giving out the figure, called for close monitoring of call book items which are of "very high" value and asked Finance Ministry to look into them to find out how many of them could be really retained.
"We tabulated the performance of the department in respect of call book clearance in central excise during recent years and noted that the pendency of cases in the call book is still very high, indicating the need for close monitoring of the process of review of call book items," the report said.
The call book pendency of central excise cases was Rs 46,727.46 crore and Rs 42,207.90 crore during 2011-12 and 2010-11, respectively.

The CAG said that the number of call book cases and the revenue involved in case of customs duty both rose during 2012-13, "indicating the need for close monitoring, including monitoring of the efficacy of the monthly review process".
As per the instructions of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), call book cases need to be reviewed on a monthly basis. The review may result in "substantial reduction" in the number of unconfirmed demands in the call book, the instructions state.
The call book pendency of service tax cases was Rs 20,273.45 crore and Rs 15,667.47 crore during 2011-12 and 2010-11, respectively, adds the CAG report which was tabled in Parliament in July this year.