Indirect tax collection during the first five months of this fiscal rose 27 per cent to Rs 1.81 lakh crore, compared to the corresponding period last fiscal. In the April-August period last year, the total indirect tax collection stood at Rs 1.43 lakh crore.

The 27 per cent increase in indirect tax collection is mainly on account of hike in rates of excise and service tax in the budget, sources told.

The service tax collection showed an impressive increase of 41 per cent at Rs 47,775 crore. This was up from Rs 33,907 crore collected in the the April-August period of 2011-12.

The mop up from excise duty was 25 per cent higher at Rs 69,025 crore. Customs duty collection was up 20 per cent at Rs 64,920 crore during the five month period.

The government had hiked both the service tax and excise levies to 12 per cent for the current fiscal in the budget, from 10 per cent. Besides, the finance ministry has moved to a new regime of Service Tax based on negative list from July 1, 2012, under which 17 services will never attract tax and another 21 also be exempted from payment of the levy.

The government has fixed indirect tax -- comprising customs, excise and service tax -- collection target at Rs 5.05 lakh crore for the current fiscal, an increase of about 27 per cent from 2011-12 target. The indirect tax mop-up in 2011-12 at Rs 3,92,781 crore was 99.6 per cent of the budget estimate.