The government’s revenue collection during the first nine-and-a-half months 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 6.89 lakh crore, registering a growth of 18.7 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.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the collection up to January 15, 2018 indicates that 70.3 percent of the annual budget target of direct taxes (Rs 9.8 lakh crore) has been achieved. Before adjusting for refunds, gross collections have surged by 13.5 percent to Rs 8.11 lakh crore up to January 15, 2018. Further, refunds amounting to Rs 1.22 lakh crore have been issued during April, 2017 to January 15, 2018.
Asserting that there has been consistent and significant improvement in the position of direct tax collections during the current fiscal, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that the growth rate of total gross collections has improved from 10 percent in Q1, to 10.3 percent in Q2, to 12.6 percent in Q3 and to 13.5 percent as on January 15, 2018. Similarly, the growth rate of total net direct tax collections has climbed up from 14.8 percent in Q1, to 15.8 percent in Q2, to 18.2 percent in Q3 and to 18.7 percent as on January 15, 2018.
CBDT further highlighted that growth in Corporate Income Tax (CIT) collections too have been good in this period. It stated that gross CIT Collections, which were growing at the rate of 4.8 percent in Q1, attained a growth rate of 5.1 percent in Q2, 10.1 percent in Q3 and 11.4 percent as on January 15, 2018. Similarly, the growth rate of Net CIT Collections increased from 10.8 percent in Q2, to 17.4 percent in Q3 and to 18.2 percent as on January 15, 2018.