18.12.21

Direct tax mop-up surges 40% in FY22 till mid-December


Direct tax collections have soared over 40% to close to Rs 9.5 lakh crore (on a net basis) up to mid-December, raising expectations that the government may close the year with a higher than budgeted mop-up. Between April and December 16, on a gross basis, collections have increased by around 48% to Rs 10.3 lakh crore.

Receipts on the direct tax front have been so robust that they are already 60% higher than the level of the entire 2020-21, when the Covid-19 outbreak had forced businesses to shut down due to the country-wide lockdown and resulted in widespread job losses and salary cuts.

A recovery across several sectors and people coming back to the job market have helped perk up the government’s revenue collections, both on the direct as well as indirect taxes front.

The latest numbers come after the government received the third installment of advance tax. In a statement, the finance ministry said that the cumulative advance tax collections for the first, second and third quarters of the current financial year were estimated at almost Rs 4.6 lakh crore (up to December 16), against Rs 3 lakh crore a year ago, showing a growth of 53.5%. With more data from banks expected in the coming days, the ministry expects the number to improve further.

Within net collections, corporation tax of over Rs 5.1 lakh crore accounting for 54% share, while the remaining Rs 4.3 lakh crore was on account of personal income tax, including Security Transaction Tax. Refunds amounting to Rs 1.35 lakh crore have been issued so far in the current fiscal.



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