Tax mopup to exceed target by Rs. 37 k cr. . . .

TAX collections during the current fiscal are likely to exceed the budgetary target by about37,000 crore, at7.82 lakh crore, in light of robust growth of the economy. "The Budget target of tax revenue has been revised upward to7.82 lakh crore from7.45 lakh crore for the current fiscal, " revenue secretary Sunil Mitra said on Monday. . While the target for direct tax collection has been raised from4.30 lakh crore to4.46 lakh crore, the indirect tax collection estimate has been hiked from3.15 lakh crore to3.36 lakh crore, he added. The upward revision in the tax collection target comes in the wake of 8.9 % economic growth during the first half of the current fiscal. According to estimates, the economy is likely to expand by about 9 % during the current fiscal, as against 7.4 % a year ago. The buoyancy in the indirect tax collection during the current fiscal can also be attributed to partial withdrawal of economic stimulus measures in last year's Budget. In his 2010-11 Budget, finance minister pranab Mukherjee raised excise duty by 2% to 10% as part of a plan to gradually withdraw the incentives given to industry to combat the impact of the global financial meltdown. . . . . . . While direct taxes include income tax and corporation tax, the indirect taxes levied by the government are excise, customs and service tax.