The world economic downturn, a slowing economy and stimulus packages by way tax cuts have all brought the government's indirect tax collections in the first four months of this fiscal down by 28 per cent as compared to last year's revenue during the same period.

The government collected Rs 63,623 crore as customs, excise and service tax during the April-July period as compared to Rs 88,395 crore collected by it last year, finance ministry sources told reporters.    

Among the indirect taxes, customs duties saw a major decline by about 36 per cent to Rs 24,324 crore as compared to Rs 38,251 crore last fiscal.   

The sources, however, are confident that the indirect tax collections target would be met for the current fiscal.   

The 2009-10 budget has pegged the target for customs, excise and service tax at about Rs 2.7 lakh crore for the current fiscal, marginally down from revised estimates of Rs 2.81 lakh crore for the last fiscal.

Excise duty collections were down by 30 per cent as compared to last year. The government collected Rs 24,623 crore as compared to Rs 38,251 crore last year, the sources said.    

The service tax collections were the least hit with the figures remaining more or less flat. They stood at Rs 14,676 crore as compared to Rs 14,911 crore in the same period last year.