Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also dismissed reports that demonetisation has hit the economy
Finance Minister cited robust tax figures to counter naysayers who said that the economy took a big hit after the notes ban. The collection in central excise duty - which related to manufacturing - surged over 31 per cent in December 2016 alone, as compared to the December 2015 figures, he said. Mr Jaitley said the tax collection has gone up in nine month starting from April to December. Claiming that the direct and indirect taxes have gone up, Mr Jaitley said compared to November 2016, indirect tax growth was 12.8 per cent in December 2016. In a Facebook post on Sunday, he attacked the opposition for criticising the centre's demonetisation drive. He attacked Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, saying he is interested only in disrupting parliament. The winter session in December was continuously disrupted after the opposition launched a united attack on the government pointing to the problems faced by the common man following the currency ban. The opposition has also criticised the centre for not releasing data on how much of the banned notes are back in the banking system, eight days after the deadline to deposit old notes in banks expired.
Here are the highlights: - Overall increase in indirect taxes for the month of April to December 2016 compared to same figures last year is 25%
- From April to December this year the increase in direct tax is 12.01% and indirect tax is 25 %, compared to last year
- Central Excise increased 31.6% in December 2016 as compared to December 2015
- In December 2016 compared to last December, the customs has actually declined, it is - 6.3%
- Direct taxes for the first 3 quarters has moved up, indirect taxes significantly moved up
- For most States VAT collections have increased