Mumbai I-T satisfied with Q1 adv tax payments, BFSI lead

Banking, financial services and insurance sector led by insurance giant LIC has reported a healthy rise in advance tax outgoes for the first quarter of 2013-14, I-T department sources said today.

Life Insurance Corporation of India's advance tax outgo went up to Rs 679 crore from the year ago's Rs 638 crore, while that of largest private sector lender ICICI Bank moved up to Rs 600 crore from Rs 500 crore, sources said.

Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation paid Rs 611 crore against Rs 440 crore last year.

State Bank of India and Reliance Industries, two of the biggest tax payers in the financial capital, are yet to pay the first installment of the annual tax outgo, sources said, pointing out that tomorrow is the last day for the payment.

Advance tax payments is a system of periodic payment of taxes in order to avoid lumpy outgoes in the final quarter. It is generally considered as a barometer of company's performance. Corporates typically pay 15 -18% of their tax liability in the June quarter.

When asked for the overall picture, a senior official said it is difficult to analyse the trend as the payments of many corporates were yet to come. "Overall, they seem to be OK," he said.

Mumbai Income tax department contributes a bulk of the overall tax collections in the country. It has set a target of Rs 2,07,545 crore for FY14 against the Rs 1,75,000 crore it collected last fiscal.

HDFC Bank paid Rs 685 crore as compared to Rs 500 crore year ago, while its parent, HDFC, paid Rs 360 crore against the year ago period's Rs 300 crore.