I-T in Surat region gets Rs1,800-cr target

The Surat region of Income Tax department has been given a revenue target of Rs1,800 crore for the financial year 2009-10, official sources said.

The target was set during a recent meeting of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, officials of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Chief Commissioners of Income Tax (CCITs) from across the country.

The Surat IT region comprises Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Vapi, Daman and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

Officials said the target for the current year is nearly Rs200 crore more than the revenue achieved by Surat Income Tax region last year. Original target for last year was Rs2,200 crore, which was lowered to Rs2,125 crore due to economic downturn.

However, Surat region ended the year with revenues of Rs1,600 crore.

According to officials, the target for the current year was earlier expected to be in the region of Rs2,000 crore, but the government has set a lower target taking into consideration the weak economic scenario and concerns of poor monsoon.

“Textiles and diamonds, the two main industries of Surat, are reeling under global recession. Other sectors have also been hit hard by the current crisis, even as a drought is looming large over the country. These are the reasons for setting lower revenue targets,” they said.