The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : 82 cases of Central Excise duty evasion detected

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Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

82 cases of Central Excise duty evasion detected

Staff Reporter

Cigarettes bring in major chunk of revenue

Central Excise Zone collected Rs. 4,736 crore as duty in 2007-08
Service tax collection has seen a growth of 48 per cent over previous year

Bangalore: Subhash Chander, Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore Central Excise Zone, said that as many as 82 cases of evasion of Central Excise were detected in 2007-08, involving an amount of Rs. 36 crore. Of this amount, Rs. 8.4 crore has been realised.

This is equal to the number of cases detected in the previous year in this zone, Mr. Chander said.

Approximately 45 per cent of Central Excise duty collections in the Bangalore Central Excise Zone in 2007-08 came from a single commodity: cigarettes.

Speaking to presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Chander said that in the previous financial year, too, around 50 per cent of central excise duty in this zone came from cigarettes.

This is followed by electrical, which accounts for 14 per cent and non-electrical machinery, which accounts for nine per cent of the central excise duty. As for service tax, 19 per cent comes from telephone services and around nine per cent from manpower recruitment.

The Bangalore Central Excise Zone comprises the districts of Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Tumkur, Kolar, Chitradurga, Haveri and Davengere.

The Central Excise Zone collected Rs. 4,736 crore as central excise duty in 2007-08, which is a growth of 11 per cent from the previous financial year.

Service tax collection, at Rs. 3,125 crore, has seen a growth of 48 per cent over the previous year, Mr. Chander said.

This growth rate is higher than the all-India growth rate, which is nine per cent for central excise duty and 36 per cent for service tax, he added.

“We have not yet been given a target by the Government for the financial year 2008-09, but we expect to realise Rs. 5,200 crore in Central Excise and Rs. 4,000 crore in service tax in this zone,” he said.

The shortage of personnel at the Central Excise department was “a very big challenge” said Mr. Chander.

The Central Excise Department is short of 350 personnel, which translates to a shortfall of approximately 45 per cent of the total strength, he added.

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