The government’s revenue collection during April-September, the first half of fiscal year 2017-18 has shown a healthy growth. For the period, direct tax collections, which comprise personal income and corporate tax, stood at Rs 3.86 lakh crore, registering a growth of 15.8 percent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year, mainly on account of a healthy growth in advance tax mop-up.
This is 39.4 percent of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for the current financial year. The government estimates to collect Rs 9.80 lakh crore from direct taxes in FY18. In the April- September period last fiscal, 2016-17, the direct tax collection had grown around 9 percent to Rs 3.27 lakh crore. Till September 2017, advance tax collections have hit Rs 1.77 lakh crore, a growth rate of 11.5 percent.
In terms of gross revenue collections, personal income tax (PIT) collections (including Securities Transaction Tax) rose 30.1 percent, while growth under corporate income tax (CIT) was 8.1 percent over the corresponding period last fiscal. Refunds amounting to Rs 79,660 crore have been issued during April-September 2017. Before adjusting for refunds, the gross direct tax collection increased by 10.3 percent to Rs 4.66 lakh crore during April-September 2017.