Indirect tax collection during the first four months of this fiscal rose by 22 per cent, as against the budgetary target of 27 per cent, reflecting impact of the slowing economy on revenue mop up.

In the April-July period, the total indirect tax collection stood at Rs 1.45 lakh crore as against Rs 1.19 lakh crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, sources said.

The 22 per cent increase in indirect tax collection is mainly on account of hike in rates of excise and service tax in the budget. This, however, is significantly lower than projected growth of 27 per cent.

The Service Tax collection, however, showed an impressive increase of 80 per cent growth at Rs 38,070 crore. The Service tax collection in April-July of 2011-12 fiscal was Rs 21,210 crore.

The mop up from excise duty was 19 per cent higher at Rs 55,100 crore. However, Customs duty collection was up 0.81 per cent only at Rs 51,920 crore.

The government had hiked both the service tax and excise levies to 12 per cent for the current fiscal, from 10 per cent in the budget.

Besides, the Finance Ministry has moved to a new regime of Service Tax based on negative list from July 1, 2012, under which 17 services will never attract tax and another 21 also exempted from payment of the levy.

Recent economic data showed that during the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, the industrial output showed contraction at 0.1 per cent. It had recorded a 6.9 per cent growth in the same period last fiscal.

The government has fixed indirect tax — comprising customs, excise and service tax — collection target at Rs 5.05 lakh crore for the current fiscal, an increase of about 27 per cent from 2011-12 target.

The indirect tax mop-up in 2011-12 at Rs 3,92,781 crore was 99.6 per cent of the Budget Estimate.

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