Direct tax collections rise 19% in Apr-Dec

Direct tax collections in the first nine months (April-December) of the current financial year increased 19.47 per cent to touch Rs 2,98,958 crore, compared with Rs 2,50,232 crore in the corresponding period of 2009-10.

“Growth in collections for December this year over the same month last year was 20 per cent,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. Tax collections at Rs 2,98,958 crore are 69.53 per cent of the Budgeted target of Rs 4,30,000 crore this year. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked Income Tax Department to raise the target by Rs 20,000 crore.

“Collections so far have increased by 19 per cent. The finance minister wants us to maintain the same pace of growth, with which we will achieve the target of Rs 4,50,000 crore,” said a CBDT official.

The growth in the April-December period was largely contributed by corporation income-tax collections. During these months, collections from corporation tax jumped 22.07 per cent to Rs 2,03,244 crore, against Rs 1,66,503 crore in the corresponding period last year. Collections of personal income-tax, including securities transaction tax (STT), residual fringe benefit tax and banking cash transaction tax, increased 10.96 per cent to Rs 92,295 crore, compared with Rs 83,178 crore in the year-ago period. The mop-up from STT increased 11.97 per cent to Rs 5,117 crore from Rs 4,570 crore last year.

Direct tax collections for 2009-10 stood at Rs 3,78,000 crore. This was lower than the revised estimate of Rs 3,87,000 crore. The government has budgeted an overall tax mop-up of Rs 7,46,000 crore in the current financial year.

Indirect tax collections went up by 42.3 per cent to Rs 2,07,756 crore in the reported period, against Rs 1,45,958 crore during the corresponding months of 2009-10.