Mercedes, JCB India fill in excise revenue shortfall

Pune, May 16:

Excise realisations from the big two — Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto — in the Pimpri Chinchwad industrial region dropped considerably during 2007-08 compared to the previous fiscal, but newer players like Mercedes Benz and JCB India Ltd have helped soften what might have otherwise been a Rs 200-crore loss in revenues.

In the 2007-08 fiscal, Tata Motors, the highest contributor to the excise kitty, paid over 21 per cent less net excise. In cash terms, that translates to Rs 560 crore against Rs 710 crore during 2006-07. The second hit to the excise top line came from Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) which moved out production from its Akurdi facility in September last year.

Hence, the company paid a mere Rs 24 lakh on account of this plant, while the motorcycle facility at Chakan shelled out Rs 15.5 crore. The total amount paid by BAL during 2006-07 was nearly six times as much at Rs 90 crore (including Rs 24 crore from Akurdi).

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