Govt to go after 12 lakh service tax defaulters
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17
The Finance Ministry will target 12 lakh service tax assessees who have stopped filing returns. "We are targeting 12 lakh non-filers and stop-filers of service tax," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after inaugurating a conference of chief commissioners and director generals of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

The Finance Ministry had earlier identified income tax defaulters throughout the country and issued them letters. The minister said he had told the tax officials that revenue mobilisation is the most important task of the department and they should achieve the tax collection target. Service tax accounts for one-third of the total indirect tax collection in the country and the government expects to raise Rs 1.8 lakh crore through the levy this fiscal.

Chidambaram also expressed confidence that with the economy expected to grow by about 6 per cent, the Revenue Department will be able to achieve the target of 19 per cent increase in indirect tax collection in the current fiscal over the realisation in 2012-13.

"In 2012-13, we achieved 21 per cent increase over the previous year's collection. With economy expected to grow certainly higher than 5 per cent, we should be able to collect 19 per cent more than last year," the minister said.

The Finance Ministry has fixed the target of indirect tax collection, comprising customs, excise and service tax, at Rs 5.65 lakh crore for 2013-14.