AP I-T, corporate taxes up 25%

The Union finance ministry is likely to retain the growth target of 33 per cent for income and corporate tax receipts in Andhra Pradesh for the year 2005-06, irrespective of the slide in growth of direct tax receipts during the last financial year.

In absolute terms, the achievement of the above target would mean that the income tax department would collect Rs 6,400 crore.

The Andhra Pradesh circle of the I-T department collected Rs 4,790 crore towards income tax and corporate tax in the state, an increase of 25 per cent over previous year's collection of Rs 3,822 crore as compared to the targeted growth of 33 per cent.

While the earnings from corporate tax grew 32 per cent, earnings from income tax receipts were down 19 per cent as compared to 28 per cent in the previous year. The increase in corporate tax receipts was 39 per cent in 2003-04.

In absolute terms, the corporate tax posted an increase of Rs 573 crore as compared to 701 crore in the previous year. Increase in income tax receipts was just Rs 395 crore as compared to Rs 575 crore in 2003-04.

Of the total tax collections, the share of corporate taxes for the last financial year was Rs 2,358 crore while income tax stood at Rs 2,432 crore.

Terming the shortfall in achieving the targets for the year 2004-05 as insignificant, P A Chowdary, chief commissioner of income tax department (AP Circle), however, said that the decrease in growth was largely due to reduced advance tax payments by pharma and banking sectors.

"Discussions are on with regard to the budget preparation for the current financial year. We have received indications that the same 33 per cent growth target is expected to be fixed by the finance ministry," he told reporters here on Thursday.

"The shortfall in target is insignificant. What is significant is that Andhra Pradesh, for the first time, crossed the Rs 1 billion-mark," Chowdary said.