The indirect tax collections grew by 7.33 per cent to Rs 40,480 crore (Rs 404.80 billion) in the first four months this fiscal as against Rs 37,715 crore (Rs 377.15 billion) during April-July 2002.

Excise mop up grew by 6.74 per cent to Rs 25,568 crore (Rs 255.68 billion) in the first four months from Rs 24,043 crore (Rs 240.43 billion) during April-July 2002, top finance ministry officials told PTI in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Customs collections were up by 9.08 per cent to Rs 14,912 crore (Rs 149.12 billion) during April-July 2003, compared to Rs 13,671 crore (Rs 136.71 billion) during the same period last fiscal, they said.

Despite the negative growth in collection of both excise and customs in March, the indirect tax collections improved substantially in the subsequent months, the officials said.

The excise collections surged despite the two per cent cut on petroleum products.

The duty from petroleum products accounts for 40-45 per cent of government's total indirect tax collections. Last fiscal, it accounted for Rs 37,000 crore (Rs 370 billion) of the total Rs 87,000 crore (Rs 870 billion) collected from indirect taxes.

With good monsoon this year, officials said diesel consumption in rural areas will be lower than last year, which saw the decade's worst drought. This would further affect the collection of customs and excise duties, they added.

The decision taken this year to scrap additional duties on raw material and some intermediaries of those finished products which does not attract this duty is likely to cost the exchequer Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) more this fiscal. The loss in revenue was Rs 875 crore (Rs 8.75 billion) in April-May on this account.