Comptroller and Auditor General, CAG in its audit report has said that tax arrears towards central excise rose to Rs 59,309 crore in 2013-14, from Rs 45,463 crore a year ago. In its report on Indirect Taxes tabled in Parliament yesterday, CAG showed that arrears have been rising since 2011-12. At the end of 2011-12, the arrears were Rs 35,964 crore. CAG said, the collection during 2013-14 has fallen drastically to 2.59 per cent compared to 4.34 per cent in 2012-13 fiscal and there is a need to strengthen the recovery mechanism of the department. It further said the revenue foregone on account of central excise exemptions has declined marginally to Rs 1.95 lakh crore during 2013-14 fiscal, from Rs 2.09 lakh crore a year ago.It said, the Rs 1.95 lakh crore was 115 per cent of the total revenue collected from central excise during the said fiscal. The CAG report showed that revenue foregone as a percentage of central excise receipts has been coming down from 2009-10 fiscal to 2013-14 fiscal.