Indirect tax collections comprising Excise and Customs totalled Rs 8711 crore during the month, registering an 18.4 per cent year-on-year growth, while the Direct Tax collections netted Rs 990 crore, showing a 19.4 per cent year-on-year growth, according to an official release here today.

Significantly, Excise collections picked up sharply with a 22.5 per cent growth aggregating Rs 4553 crore in May. Customs figure was put at Rs 3952 crore -- a 15.3 per cent growth.

Analysing the figures, the release said market indications were that the cement, passenger and utility vehicles, two wheelers, auto ancillaries, capital goods, cement, consumer durables, plastics, synthetic yarns, pharmaceuticals, electrical cables showed a marked revival.

However, in the case of steel and textiles, therecovery was modest, it added. It attributed the buoyancy in customs duty to increased prices of crude oil and petroleum products and higher realisation of certain other imports. Going by the revenue collection figures, the release said that the industrial growth this financial year was ``very satisfactory'' as compared to last year when excise growth was 9.1 per cent and customs a mere 0.9 per cent.

Cumulative revenue collections from Indirect Tax by may end was Rs 15150 crore which is 19.1 per cent higher than that in the same period last year. Of this Excise Duty collections accounted for Rs 7950 crore -- 27.8 per cent growth -- and Customs Rs 6764 crore which 11.4 per cent higher than that in the same period last year.

On the Direct Tax front, the cumulative revenue collection till May end was Rs 2003 crore which is a record 41.5 per cent growth. While Income Tax collection was Rs 2673 crore (37.9 per cent growth), Corporate Tax was Rs 94 crore -- a 17.5 per cent growth. Both Direct and Indirect Taxcollections together were Rs 17,153 crore till May end.