The intelligence arm of the finance ministry detected service tax and excise duty evasion worth Rs 15,047 crore in the last fiscal, as against Rs 12,112 crore in 2015-16. The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) also arrested 13 tax evaders and registered 1,500 cases of evasion in 2016-17, up from 1,150 the year before. A sum of Rs 2,410.66 crore was recovered in 2016-17, about 22 per cent more than the Rs 1,975.45 crore realised by it in 2015-16. DGCEI Director General RK Mahajan said ‘hard efforts’ put in by its officers led to the detection of evasion and recovery of money.