Excise tax collection up 22 percent in August

September 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Time to say cheers! The Delhi government Wednesday decided to open 83 more liquor shops in the city and allow opening of alcohol vends in malls too, but said its excise policy encouraged consumption of mild liquor instead of hard drinks. The decision was taken by a Delhi cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

September 21st, 2009 KOLKATA - The Rs.1,600-crore Indian electric fan industry, hit badly by the economic slowdown last year, does not see any respite in the coming six to nine months, an industry player said here Monday. "Our domestic sales as well as exports suffered last year.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's net direct tax collections increased 3.65 percent in the first quarter this fiscal, but the growth was stymied on account of a 52-percent jump in refunds and lower corporate tax collection, the government said Wednesday. Net direct tax collections during first three months of the present fiscal stood at Rs.59,465 crore ($11.9 billion), up from Rs.57,373 crore ($11.5 billion) in the same period last fiscal, a finance ministry statement said.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday reduced duties on large cars while unveiling the 2009-10 budget proposals. A leading NGO said this would increase air pollution in a big way.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy Monday asked the finance ministry to remove excise tax on public buses and said the government will introduce 15,220 new buses in 61 cities this year. "Road transport is very important and in the last budget we proposed to cut the excise duty from 16 percent to 8 percent.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) Wednesday urged the government to exempt infrastructure projects from excise, value-added tax (VAT) and central sales tax (CST) to make them more cost-effective. "On account of excise, VAT and CST, the capital costs of projects become dearer by over 20-25 percent which puts huge burden on companies commissioning infrastructure projects," said Assocham president Sajjan Jindal.

June 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In yet another sign of the economy clawing back, direct tax collection in May rose to Rs.11,919 crore compared to the Rs.10,198 crore raised in the year-ago period when the global meltdown was still to hit India. This rise of about 16.88 percent is also in sharp contrast to the 3.19 percent negative growth witnessed in April.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian IT hardware industry has called for parity in the countervailing duty (CVD) and service tax, levied on IT hardware products, in a pre-budget memorandum submitted to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. It is strongly recommended that the rate of service tax be aligned to that of the excise duty/CVD to avoid structural anomalies, the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) said in a statement Wednesday.

May 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an inspector of Customs and Central Excise for accepting a bribe of Rs.8,000, according to an official statement Friday. 'Vimil Kumar Sirohi, who is posted in the office of Commissioner of Central Excise at New Delhi here, was arrested Thursday for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs.8,000 from the complainant,' it said.

March 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Designer Puja Arya's collection of tent dresses, neck-knotted blouses, embroidered jackets, tunics, dresses and skirts - in a mix of gypsy style and hand block printing - are intended to represent a rhapsody of love and happiness at the upcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW). Through her collection, this Jaipur-based designer has tried to spread happiness among people as her theme - '90 percent heart and 10 percent cotton' - has a direct connection to her heart.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A day after the central government announced 2-percent excise duty cut, some of India's commercial vehicle manufacturers Wednesday slashed prices across their trucks and bus line-ups to pass on the benefit to consumers. 'We are passing on the full benefits of the excise duty reduction,' a spokesman for Ashok Leyland said, adding that this would 'bring prices down on average slightly more than Rs.16,000'.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said the 2-percent excise and service tax cuts announced by the government will boost production, and asked companies to pass on the benefits to consumers to 'stimulate demand'.

February 25th, 2009 KOLKATA - Direct tax collection in Bengal circle has increased 23.8 percent to Rs.103.16 billion (Rs.10,316 crore) during the first 10 months of 2008-09, a top tax official said Tuesday. 'Of this, corporate tax was Rs.70.22 billion, while personal income tax collection stood at Rs.29.54 billion,' Chief Income Tax Commissioner T.K.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Inc Tuesday welcomed the government's decision to reduce excise and service tax by 2 percent besides extending 4 percent excise duty cut beyond March 31, and said this would further stimulate and strengthen the economy. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee - who is handling the finance portfolio as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is heading that ministry, is recovering after a heart surgery - announced excise duty and service tax cuts by 2 percent in what is being touted as the third stimulus package to help corporate India tide over the impact of global economic crisis.

February 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Gross revenue collection has doubled to Rs.6.7 trillion in the last five years, the government said Monday. 'This is the only government department which earns while the rest spend,' Home Minister P.