Indirect tax collections up 36.5% in April-August at Rs2,63,089 crore

Indirect tax collections in the country increased by 36.5 per cent to Rs2,63,089 crore during the first five months of the current financial year (April-August 2015) from Rs1,92,677 crore during the same period last year on the back of a 36.7 per cent increase in tax collections in August.

Provisional estimates show indirect tax revenue collections increased by 36.7 per cent in August 2015 to Rs54,396 crore from Rs39,781 crore in August 2014.

Cumulative growth in indirect tax collections was estimated at 18.8 per cent in April-August 2015 over the same period last year.

Indirect tax revenue collections by way of central excise increased to Rs1,02,945 crore in April-August 2015 from Rs60,663 crore in April-August 2014, thereby recording an increase of 69.7 pe5r cent.

Service tax collections increased by 21.6 per cent to Rs75,006 crore in April-August 2015 from Rs61,693 crore in April-August 2014 on the back of a 21.1 per cent increase in collections to Rs85,138 crore in April-August 2015 from Rs70,321 crore in April-August 2014.

The government attributes the increase in tax collections in part due to additional measures taken by the government from time to time, including the excise increases on diesel and petrol, the increase in clean energy cess, the withdrawal of exemptions for motor vehicles, capital goods and consumer durables, and the increase in Service Tax from 12.36 to 14 per cent (from June 2015).

The depreciation of the rupee also helped increase customs duty collections by 6 per cent between April and August this year.

However, stripped of all these additional measures, indirect tax collections increased by 12.2 per cent during April-August 2015 compared to April-August 2014.

These collections, however, continue to suggest a healthy growth in the underlying tax base.