The Hindu Business Line : Direct tax mop-up surpasses previous fiscal’s collections

New Delhi, March 18 Contrary to expectations, the Centre’s direct tax collections this year have already surpassed the total net collections of fiscal 2007-08. Going by this collection trend, the Centre is well on course to exceed the revised estimate of Rs 3,45,000 crore for 2008-09.

Direct taxes collection data available with the Revenue Department showed that net collections up to March 17 this year stood at about Rs 3,12,800 crore, surpassing the net collection of Rs 3,12,202 crore last fiscal.

Last year between March 17 and March 31, the Centre collected direct taxes of about Rs 45,000 crore. If the same trend is maintained this year, the Centre would comfortably exceed the revised estimate target this year, say Revenue Department observers.

The Centre’s net direct tax collections of Rs 3,12,800 crore as on March 17 represent a near 19 per cent increase over the collections of Rs 2,63,000 crore in the same period last year. This performance could be attributed to the robust 28 per cent year-on-year growth in corporate tax collections at about Rs 2,00,000 crore as on March 17, 2009.

The Centre’s corporate advance tax collections up to March 17 2009 stood at Rs 1,23,400 crore, recording a growth of 17.5 per cent over Rs 1,05,100 crore in the same period last year. Corporate tax collections grew 18.5 per cent year-on-year growth at the same stage last year.

Until March 17, 2009, corporate TDS grew 36 per cent at Rs 59,500 crore (Rs 43,800 crore). This growth rate is, however, lower than the one recorded last year.

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a preliminary analysis of trends in advance tax collections up to the fourth quarter of this fiscal shows steady performance in banking, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and fertilisers, information technology, telecommunications, insurance and FMCG. The performance of the public sector, other than oil companies, is also good, a CBDT release said.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that advance tax payments by corporates for the March 15 instalment this year were about Rs 28,600 crore (provisional). Advance tax payments by the top 50 companies for the March 15 instalment were about Rs 16,252.48 crore (Rs 14,703.19 crore). The largest advance tax payout for this instalment came from ONGC at Rs 2,102 crore.

A CBDT official said that a large number of deductors have not deposited tax deducted at source into government account. The Income-Tax Department has electronic record of such instances. Failure to pay the tax deducted at source or advance tax due may attract penal consequences and tax scrutiny, the official said.

Corporate taxpayers and taxpayers liable to statutory tax audit are required to pay their tax online through the net banking system. Other taxpayers can pay either through net banking or through the authorised banks.