The income tax department is looking to surpass its collection target this year from Bengal, Andaman and Sikkim.

C. L Denzongpa, chief commissioner of income tax, Calcutta, today said the finance ministry had set a collection target of Rs 32,361 crore for 2014-15.

“Every year we are collecting around Rs 30,000 crore. Since April, we have collected Rs 13,827 crore and we are confident that we would be able to surpass the target set this year,” Denzongpa said. Collections have already risen 5 per cent over the year-ago period.

A majority of the tax collected so far has been in the form of advance tax. Bengal has contributed more than the other two regions. “We still have a period of less than two quarters and close to 40 per cent of the total tax collection takes place in the final quarter. So we are in the comfort zone,” Denzongpa said.

He added that the collection was gradually growing in North Bengal. “A large part of the collection is coming from Siliguri. The reason is the increasing trade in the Northeast, including the eastern part of Nepal and Sikkim,” he said.

He said an office was being set up in Sikkim in view of growing collections because of the increasing trade with China. Denzongpa added that the I-T department was gearing up to make the services more user-friendly, following a nudge from the Centre.

The chief commissioner was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of a book by tax advocate Narayan Jain and co-authored by chartered accountant Dilip Loyalka today.

The book, titled “How to handle income tax problems”, focuses on providing simplified answers to key tax-related issues faced by assesses.