The collection of indirect taxes has surpassed the revised estimates by Rs4,000 crore to reach Rs5.46 lakh crore for the fiscal ended March 2015, despite a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. The total collection as on March 31 is Rs5,46,479 crore, based on the provisional report as against revised estimates of Rs5,42,325 crore for 2014-15, an official statement said.
Revised estimate was Rs82,577 lower than the Budget estimate of Rs6,24,902 crore for 2014-15. At many occasions earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the Rs6.24 lakh crore indirect tax collection target for 2014-15 is challenging.
The provisional collections during the 2014-15 increased by 9.9 per cent as against the actual collections during 2013-14, which was Rs4,97,061 crore. Indirect tax collection growth is linked to industrial output. The growth in factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP), grew by 2.5 per cent during April-January period of 2014-15, reflecting the slowdown. However, details of individual categories like excise and customs are awaited but excess tax mobilisation would help the government in meeting its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is keen to meet the fiscal deficit target set by his predecessor P Chidambaram.