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India’s Direct Tax Collections Exceed 52% Of FY23 Budget Estimates

Direct tax collection, net of refunds, stood at Rs 7.45 lakh crore, which is 16.3% higher than the net collections a year ago.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>A 100 rupee Indian banknote. (Photo: Ishant Mishra/Unsplash)</p></div>
A 100 rupee Indian banknote. (Photo: Ishant Mishra/Unsplash)

India’s tax revenue continues to register steady growth as evident from its direct tax collections.

The provisional gross direct tax collections stood at Rs 8.98 lakh crore as on Oct. 8, according to a statement by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. That’s 23.8% higher than the gross collections for the corresponding year-ago period.

Direct tax collection, net of refunds, stood at Rs 7.45 lakh crore, which is 16.3% higher than the net collections a year ago. This is 52.46% of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for FY23.

Refunds, amounting to Rs 1.53 lakh crore were issued during April 1 to Oct. 8, accounting for an 81% increase over the year earlier.

Direct tax components include corporate income tax and personal income tax. The growth rate for CIT in terms of gross revenue collections was 16.73%, while that for PIT (including securities transaction tax) was 32.30%, the statement said.

The budgetary targets for CIT and PIT are at Rs 7.2 lakh crore and Rs 7 lakh crore, respectively.

According to Rohinton Sidhwa, partner at Deloitte India, economic growth and better reporting have resulted in the healthy figures. “With inflation reportedly running between 6% and 7%, it’s imperative that tax collections show a healthy growth above the inflation rate,” he told BQ Prime. “While collections remain strong, the same also need to be supported by corporate investment cycles reviving post Covid.”

CBDT Chairman Nitin Gupta, while speaking to reporters at the Finance Minister’s Award Function earlier last month, had said the department would look to stay ahead in the technology front, integrating the tax system in a better way and imparting it to field officers for smooth operations.