FPJ BUSIENESS DESK Mumbai

The indirect tax collection target of Rs 3.93 lakh crore will be met in the current fiscal despite moderation in economic growth, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. " I am confident that the department ( Central Board of Excise and Customs) would not spare any effort in meeting the indirect tax collection target. In fact, already indications are there," Mukherjee said while speaking at a ceremony to hand over Presidential Awards to custom and excise officials. He said that despite challenges on the fiscal front, indirect tax collections have been good this fiscal so far.

Total collection of indirect taxes in the first 10 months of the current fiscal was Rs 3.17 lakh crore against Rs 2.75 lakh crore in the April- January period of last fiscal, an increase of 15 per cent.

The government has fixed a target of Rs 3.93 lakh crore for indirect tax collection during 2011- 12.

Highlighting the importance of Goods and Services Tax ( GST), the Finance Minister said, " once implemented GST will bring about a paradigm shift in the arena of the indirect tax system of the country." Under the GST regime, uniform taxes would be levied by the Union government and the state governments through a common system of tax collection, Mukherjee said. GST is expected to be a more efficient system of taxation and is likely to give a boost to tax revenues of the Centre and states, he said.