Business news: The net direct tax collection grew 19.88 per cent to over Rs 18.90 lakh crore till March 17 on higher advance tax mop-up. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said net direct tax collection of Rs 18,90,259 crore (as of March 17) includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 9,14,469 crore (net of refund) and Personal Income Tax (PIT), including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs 9,72,224 crore (net of refund).
Advance Tax collections for Financial Year 2023-24 (as of March 17) stood at Rs 9.11 lakh crore, a 22.31 per cent growth over the last fiscal. The advance tax collection of Rs 9,11,534 crore comprises CIT at Rs 6.73 lakh crore and PIT at Rs 2.39 lakh crore.
Refunds of about Rs 3.37 lakh crore have also been issued in the current fiscal till March 17. On a gross basis, before adjusting refunds, the direct tax collection stood at Rs 22.27 lakh crore, an 18.74 per cent growth over the year-ago period.
"The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year 2023-24 (as of March 17, 2024) show that net collections are at Rs 18,90,259 crore, compared to Rs 15,76,776 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding Financial Year (FY 2022-23), representing an increase of 19.
88 per cent," the CBDT said in a statement.
The government had in the revised estimates for direct tax collection pegged the receipts for the full fiscal (April-March) at Rs 19.45 lakh crore.
What Deloitte India Partner said?
Deloitte India Partner Sumit Singhania said a nearly 20 per cent year-on-year growth in Tax revenues underlines the continued momentum of tax policy reforms carried out around the year and not necessarily as a part of the annual budgetary exercise.
"What also stands out is the significant growth in advance tax collections that arguably can account for growing voluntary compliances across taxpayers' categories," Singhania said.
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Partner Gouri Puri said third-party reporting mechanisms (such as TDS and TCS), use of technological tools for tax enforcement (such as data analytics and AI) that create a deterrent impact on tax evasion and India's growing economy seem to be contributing to the country's year-on-year increase in tax collections.
(With agencies inputs)
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