Collection of Central Customs Tax went by 44 per cent in the Bhubaneswar Zone as per the final revenue figures of the Central Customs, Excise and Service Tax during the year 2013-14. It was also revealed that service tax in the zone went up by 20 per cent. However, both the tax figures missed their targets.
“We have collected revenues from indirect tax bracket in 2013-14 to the tune of Rs8,017 crore against the target of Rs8,700 crore. Central Excise revenue collection was Rs3,125 crore against the target of Rs4,250 crore, which was the maximum decline in the segment-wise collection. Service Tax collection from about 6,000 registered assesses has clocked Rs1,764 crore and the Customs mop-up was Rs3,128 crore surpassing the target of Rs2,500 crore,” Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax, (Bhubaneswar Zone) Sushanta Kumar Panda told reporters here.
“Approximately, the Service Tax collection has grown by 29 per cent, which is highest in the entire country, and in customs also a tremendous growth of 44 per cent has been achieved for the zone having jurisdiction over the whole of the State,” he said.
Panda further informed that the Central Excise Tax collection slumped from Rs3,963.60 crore to Rs3,125 crore registering a decline of around 21 per cent.
Asked about the reason behind the drop in excise duty collection, he said, “It was due to a slump in the manufacturing sector, especially in the iron and steel industry. Closure of mines has affected the supply of raw materials to the iron and steel industry, affecting their production and clearance thereby the revenue payment.”
In 2012-13, the total indirect tax collection was Rs7,512 crore including customs collection of Rs2,177.98 crore, Central Excise of Rs2,963.60 crore and Service Tax collected was pegged at Rs1,370.95 crore. “For preventing the leakage of Central Excise and Service Tax revenue, anti-evasion and audit were carried out during the period under review. The raids resulted in detection of 56 cases of tax evasion involving duty amount of Rs28.84 crore in Services Tax and 17 cases involving duty amount of Rs10.46 crore in Central Excise were booked,” Panda said. .
He informed that two city-based companies, East Coast construction and Rukmani Infrastructure, evaded tax to the tune of Rs18 crore.
Similarly, the audit of the manufacturers and service providers conducted by the department has detected a tax evasion of Rs502 crore in Central Excise and Service Tax, out of which Rs30 crore has been recovered.