Direct tax mop-up jumps 19% to Rs 6.89 lakh crore this fiscal

Direct tax collections during the first nine-and-a-half months of the current fiscal have risen by 18.7% to Rs 6.89 lakh crore, the tax department said on Wednesday.

The collections till January 15, 2018 represent over 70% of the Rs 9.8 lakh crore revenue target from direct taxes, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

"The provisional figures of direct tax collections up to January 15, 2018, show that net collections are at Rs 6.89 lakh crore which is 18.7% higher than the net collections for the corresponding period last year," it said.

Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 13.5%to Rs 8.11 lakh crore during April, 2017 to January 15, 2018.

Refunds amounting to Rs 1.22 lakh crore have been issued during this period.

Stating that there has been "consistent and significant" improvement in the position of direct tax collections during the current fiscal, the CBDT said the growth rate of total gross collections has improved from 10 per cent in Q1, to 10.3% in Q2, to 12.6% in Q3 and to 13.5% as on January 15, 2018.

Similarly, the growth rate of total net direct tax collections has climbed up from 14.8% in Q1, to 15.8% in Q2, to 18.2% in Q3 and to 18.7% as on January 15, 2018.

The growth in corporate tax collections has risen from 4.8% in first quarter of current fiscal to 10.1% in Q3 and 11.4% as on January 15, 2018.

Similarly, the growth rate of net corporate tax collections increased from 10.8% in Q2 to 17.4% in Q3 and to 18.2% as on January 15, 2018.