Govt confident of meeting tax targets
Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia says indirect tax collections are likely to exceed the budgeted targets by more than Rs40,000 crore
New Delhi: With indirect collections rising on the back of higher excise duties on petroleum products, the government is confident of meeting its overall tax collection targets for 2015-16 despite a shortfall in direct tax collection.
Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said in a video statement on Wednesday that indirect tax collections are likely to exceed the budgeted targets by more than ₹ 40,000 crore. But a shortfall in direct tax collections is likely to compensate the increase in indirect tax revenue.
As of 31 January, total direct tax collections stood at ₹ 5.22 trillion (65% of the budget estimate) while indirect tax collections amounted to ₹ 5.44 trillion (88% of the budget estimate). “We are confident of achieving the total tax revenue collection target of ₹ 14.49 trillion," Adhia said.
Capitalizing on the fall in global crude prices, the government has increased the excise duty on petroleum products many times since late 2014, including three times in the last month itself.
Adhia said that sector-specific trends visible from the customs and service sector data are signalling a revival in economic activity in the country.
Growth in customs duty revenue from electrical machinery is 34.4% and in other machinery is 27.8%, reflecting improved levels of private investment, he said.
In services tax, growth in tax revenue from banking and financial services was highest at 44%, followed by goods transportation services at 41% and works contract at 40%, he added.
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