Finance Minister P Chidambaram today asked revenue officials to beef up their tax collection efforts to achieve the budgeted target. Mr Chidambaram said that it was a difficult year for the economy because there were less imports and manufacturing activity was also slackening. He was addressing the officials of Central Board of Excise and Customs in New Delhi. The Finance Minister said the tax officials should make their best efforts to achieve the budgeted target in the remaining weeks of the current fiscal ending March.
The government has budgeted to collect over 5.05 lakh crore rupees in the current fiscal from indirect taxes that comprise excise, customs and service tax. Indirect tax collection grew at a moderate rate of 16.8 per cent to 2.92 lakh crore rupees in the April-November period as against the annual growth target of 27 per cent.