The Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax Commissionerate of Tirupati, having jurisdiction over Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa and Chittoor districts, has collected a record central excise and service tax revenue for the financial year 2007-08.

The central excise collections stood around Rs 667 crore, service tax around Rs 73 crore and the customs revenue around Rs 4.2 crore. The figures for 2006-07 for central Excise, service tax and customs stood at Rs 585 crore, Rs 57 crore and Rs 0.83 crore respectively.

According to commissioner of customs and central excise PN Rao, the central excise revenue has recorded a growth of 14 percent and the service tax revenue has recorded a growth of 28 percent over the previous year.

He explained that the major commodities that contributed to the growth in central excise revenue were cement, iron and steel and batteries.

He said that Tadipatri-based Ultra Tech Cements Limited, Penna Cements Limited and SJK Steel Plant Limited, Yerraguntla-based Zuari Cements Limited and India Cements Limited, Anantapur-based Satavahana Ispat Limited, Renigunta-based Amararaja Batteries Limited and Kurnool-based Sree Rayalaseema Alkalies and Allied Chemicals (SRACC) Limited were the major payers of central excise.

Goods transport, telephone service and banking & other financial services were the major contributors, together accounting for 58 percent of the total service tax revenue. BSNL, some of the major cement companies and banks have also contributed to the revenue, to a large extent, he said while thanking them for their cooperation.