Mangaluru: The Mangaluru regional unit of the Central Excise Intelligence detected Central Excise and Service Tax evasion cases amounting to over Rs. 76 crore during 2016-17, an increase of over 300 % over the previous year.

A press release here said that the Mangaluru regional unit began functioning two years ago. It has made substantial strides in detection and recovery of dues.

The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence is the arm of the Central Board of Excise and Customs.

Of the Rs. 76 crore evasion detected, the regional unit was able to recover over Rs. 50 crore dues, accounting for 65%, which is one of the highest in the country. The offenders had adopted various methods to evade payment of tax.

The release said that the Mangaluru regional unit has detected many high profile cases while 117 defaulters came forward to pay service tax and excise duty. The high compliance level among defaulters was due to the awareness campaign carried out by the unit, the release said.

The regional unit was able to get information from the public on defaulters and rewarded informers up to 20 % of the duty evaded as per government guidance.

Informers may contact the officers of the unit at Bharath Nivas, near Gandhi Park, Mannagudda, Mangaluru 575003; Ph: 0824-2454090; email:dgceirumlr@ gmail.com. The identity of informers would be kept a secret, the release added.