With respect to trade facilitation in taxation, he said a large number of irritants which had been created particularly in the tax administration, have been consciously addressed.

He emphasised that trade facilitation will not only bring ease in doing business in the country but will also reduce the cost of doing business.

The Finance Minister asked the senior officers of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to work as a facilitator for tax payers and at the same time take action wherever they find cases of revenue leakages or tax evasion.

The cost of tax collection, both in case of direct and indirect taxes in our country, is not very high and further investment in strengthening the tax infrastructure in the country will bring better returns to the exchequer of the government, he said.

The minister also laid emphasis upon reducing tax litigation and tax settlement mechanism to unlock the money held up due to litigation.

Speaking on the occasion, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said growth in the first quarter in indirect tax collections has been about 4.5 per cent only, but in June the growth has been 13.5 per cent overall.

The growth pattern has been very good in July, he added.