Indirect tax collections could help Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tide over the government’s financial strain to a large extent if the April-October numbers are an indicator.
After five excise duty hikes on auto fuel since November, an increase in service tax rates, the clean energy cess, and the withdrawal of exemptions for cars, capital goods, and consumer durables, the cumulative indirect tax collections rose 35.9 per cent, to ₹3,82,860 crore in the period.
This amounts to 59.2 per cent of the targeted ₹6,46,267 crore from indirect taxes in Budget 2015-16. Provisional Finance Ministry data released on Monday revealed the indirect tax mop-up shot up 36.8 per cent in October alone to ₹58,691 crore from ₹42,897 crore in October 2014.
The sharpest rise was in excise duty collections that grew 68.6 per cent to ₹1,47,685 crore during the period. Customs duty collections rose 16.8 per cent to ₹1,22,448 crore, while service tax receipts increased 26.1 per cent to ₹1,12,727 crore.
The data reveal that in October, the excise duty mop-up jumped 66.2 per cent to ₹22,550 crore, while customs duty receipts rose 13.1 per cent to ₹18,998 crore. Service tax receipts increased by 36.8 per cent to ₹17,143 crore.
Stripped of all additional measures, indirect tax collections grew by 11.6 per cent during April to October compared with April-October 2014. The Finance Ministry stressed that this still indicates a healthy economic growth.