New Delhi, Dec. 5 -- Cautioning tax officials to not kill the goose that lays the golden egg in the process of tax collection, revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra told a gathering of officials that they need to be careful not to hurt the economy's interests in the hunt for revenue.

"We are here not only for revenue (collection for the exchequer), we are here also for the country's economy," Malhotra said. "And so, if in the process of garnering some small amount of revenue, we are hurting the whole industry and the country's economy, then certainly, that is not the intent."

The revenue secretary was speaking on Wednesday at the 67th foundation day of anti-smuggling agency Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in the capital.

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