By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 11, 2015: THE overall growth in Indirect Tax Revenue (Provisional) collections during the first quarter of current fiscal year, ie April-June 2015 have increased from Rs.1,12,094 crore to Rs1,53,980 crores suggesting an increase of 37.4 % over the corresponding period (April-June 2014) in the last financial year. In June 2015,the indirect tax collections increased by 33.3% compared with June 2014.

These increases were spread across all three tax categories-customs, central excise, and service tax. These collections reflect in part additional measures taken, including the excise increases on diesel and petrol, the increase in clean energy cess, the withdrawal of exemptions for motor vehicles and consumer durables, and in June, the increase in service tax from 12.36 to 14 percent.

Stripped of all these additional measures, indirect tax collections increased by 10.8 percent in June 2015 over June 2014; and by 14.5 percent for the first quarter of FY2015-16 compared to the first quarter of FY 2014-15. These collections indicate that the underlying momentum in the economy is improving, across all sectors, including manufacturing, reflected in healthy excise tax collections.

The growth in underlying indirect tax collections of 14.5 percent suggests a healthy increase in nominal GDP growth which constitutes the tax base for indirect tax collections.

Indirect tax revenue collection : April-June, 2015-16(Prov.)

*Exclusive of cesses not administered by the Dept.of Revenue.