Excise mopup drops first time in 16 months

The government's excise duty collections fell for the first time in 16 months in September, confounding analysts and policy makers alike while raising hopes this might compel the central bank to put its monetary tightening on hold. Collections from the excise levy - a tax imposed on goods at factory gate and considered one of the few accurate gauges of industrial activity - dropped 8% year on year in September, finally catching up with the trend of slowing industrial production.

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