Direct tax collection declines 8%

Net direct tax collections in the first four months of this financial year declined 8.1 per cent to Rs 78,679 crore, against Rs 85,647 crore in the April-July period of the previous financial year. The decline is due to a 183.2 per cent rise in tax refunds, which stood at Rs 53,863 crore, against Rs 19,021 crore in the last financial year.

Gross direct tax collections during the April-July period rose 26.63 per cent to Rs 1,32,542 crore, against Rs 1,04,668 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement on Friday.

While gross corporate tax collection rose 29.56 per cent to Rs 85,222 crore, compared to Rs 65,776 crore in the corresponding period last year, gross personal income tax collection increased 21.64 per cent to Rs 47,214 crore, against Rs 38,816 crore in the year-ago period.

The net growth in wealth tax was 38.67 per cent at Rs 104 crore, compared with Rs 75 crore in the year-ago period, while securities transaction tax receipts showed a decline of 5.87 per cent at Rs 1,555 crore, compared with Rs 1,652 crore in the same period last year.