Chidambaram exhorts CBEC to collect more taxes

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in the wake of his foreign visits to assure foreign business that India has an improving investment climate, today exhorted revenue officials to strengthen their tax collection efforts to shore up the government's yawning budget gap.

"This was a difficult year for the economy, including for revenue collection, because there was less imports and manufacturing activity was also slackening," Chidambaram said.

Addressing the officials of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in New Delhi, he said the tax officials should try their best to achieve the budgeted revenue collection target in the remaining weeks of the current financial year ending March.

"Customs and excise officials should make their best efforts to achieve the target. There is still seven weeks to go. So they should make efforts to reach as close to the target as possible," Chidambaram said.

The government has budgeted to collect over Rs 5.05 lakh crore in the current financial year from indirect taxes that comprise excise, customs and service tax, which would represent a jump of 27 per cent over realisation in the previous financial year.

On Saturday, the CBEC had warned that those evading service tax were liable to be prosecuted.