Direct tax revenues cross half-way mark

Central Board of Direct Taxes said in that up to 8 October, net direct tax collections after tax refunds stood at ₹7.45 trillion, which is 16.3% higher than the net collections for the same time a year ago.

“This collection is 52.46% of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for FY23,” said the statement.

The finance ministry had set a direct tax collection target of ₹14.2 trillion in FY23, in the budget documents, which was 16.3% more than the revised estimates for last fiscal. Prior to refunds, gross direct tax collections upto 8 October stood at ₹8.98 trillion, which is 23.8% higher than the gross collections in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The fact that the gross direct tax revenue receipts grew more than net collections suggests that the tax department has given more tax refunds so far this year, compared to the same period a year ago. The trend is pronounced in personal income tax.

Between 1 April and 8 October, the tax department issued tax refunds of ₹1.53 trillion, which is 81% higher than the refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year, CBDT said.

The tax authority said that in terms of gross revenue collections, corporate tax collections grew 16.73% in the period under review while personal income tax including STT grew 32.30%. After adjustment of refunds, the net growth in corporate tax collections is 16.29% and that in personal income tax collections 16.25%, including STT.