Corporate Tax Refunds Cross Rs 16,000 Crore

The total refunds issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in the current fiscal have already topped Rs 16,000 crore as against Rs 11,000 crore during April-September third week in 2000-01.

According to finance ministry officials, the refunds between April and August 2001 stood at Rs 10,947 crore as against Rs 6,412 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Sources said the buoyancy in tax collections is significantly underplayed given the level of refunds till date which have significantly lowered the net direct tax collections. The refunds reveal that the government is literally paying back for the poor revenue mop-up in 2000-01. The revenue shortfall in the last fiscal stood at over Rs 15,000 crore.

 

Sources in the finance ministry said that the gross corporate tax receipts between April and the third week of September was about Rs 8,600 crore compared to Rs 8,550 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The gap was significantly higher till the end of August at well over Rs 3,000 crore. During April-August this fiscal, the net direct tax collections were Rs 12,323 crore, down 18.4 per cent compared to Rs 15,105 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The personal income tax mop-up too increased marginally between April and September third week to about Rs 11,650 crore compared to Rs 11,400 crore in the same period last year. The total direct tax target for the current fiscal has been fixed at Rs 84,800 crore in the budget estimate, with corporate tax chipping in Rs 44,200 crore.