Indirect tax revenues grew 39.2 per cent in April-May with excise duty collections showing a smart rise, reflecting a pick up in manufacturing, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.

In May, the Centre’s indirect tax revenues grew 37.3 per cent, he said without giving out the actual collection numbers.

A large part of this growth could be attributed to the additional cess imposed on diesel and petrol and the clean energy cess.

Now, even if the impact of the additional cess is removed, the indirect tax collection growth in May stood at 16.9 per cent and 12.6 per cent for two months (April-May).

“This is a very healthy growth in indirect taxes and it initially indicates pick up in manufacturing particularly as the excise collections have moved up. The pattern has continued for two consecutive months, which shows there are green shoots in the economy,” Jaitley told reporters here.

In April-May, the growth in indirect taxes is spread across all categories – excise, customs and service tax.

US visit

Meanwhile, Jaitley will on June 16 embark on a 10-day visit to the US during which he will travel to New York, Washington and San Francisco, official sources said.

In Washington, Jaitley will meet US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. In San Francisco, he will hold round table discussions with members of the US-India Business Council.

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