NEW DELHI(PTI): The Indian government is committed to moving towards a tariff structure which did not” place a premium on evasion and dishonesty” as al present, finance minister Dr.Manmohan Singh said on July 8:
Tax mites should not be more than 10 to 15%, he said adding that government would update the tax structure in the next few years to create a “hospitable climate” for enterprise, Dr.Singh said inaugurating the annual all India conference of collectors of customs and central excise.
Dr.Singh urged customs and excise authorities to become more vigilant in the light of the Bombay bomb blasts in which smuggled sophisticated explosives were used.
‘There was need to review the methods of detection and update technology to ensure that destabilizing forces did not get away with smuggling of large scale explosives and arms a5 was witnessed during the last two months, he said Dr.Singh assured that the government would extend all possible help in updating technology to check such smuggling.
The finance minister said gold and silver smuggling had been checked to a great extent with the government decision to allow import of these two precious metals.
But, the smuggling of narcotics still continued, he said adding the conference would ponder over this issue and come out with concrete proposals to tackle this problem.
Elaborating on the need to increase customs and excise revenue, Dr.Singh said concerned authorities should evolve technology by which revenue collection was maximized without harassing the honest tax payers.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 16, 1993
