Corporate tax demand worth Rs 4.18 lakh crore pending from corporates: Jayant Sinha

Government has to collect a tax of Rs 4.18 lakh crore from corporate defaulters, which was pending as of January 2016, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.

"The total amount of corporate tax demand pending for collection at the end of January, 2016 is Rs 4,18,399 crore", Sinha said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. Of the tax demand pending from corporates, the top 50 companies account for Rs 22,903 crore, which is due for recovery, he added.

Responding about the government's plan to recover the dues, he said focused action by field formations especially with regard to high demand cases is one of the strategies.

"Guidelines for tax recovery officers on recovery and dealing with stay petitions have been issued. Efforts for early disposal of appeals are also undertaken, especially in high-demand cases", Sinha said. Also, efforts of the assessing officer to recover the outstanding demand are regularly reviewed and monitored by the superior authorities, he added.

Databases like individual transaction statement and 360-degree profile generated by the department and those maintained by third party agencies like Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) have been made available for identification of assets for recovery.