On 10th October, the Finance Ministry reported an extraordinary increase in the net direct tax collection, with an impressive growth rate of 21.82 percent, reaching a total collection of over Rs 9.57 lakh crore as of 9th October. This significant increment in tax revenue has been claimed to be a healthy contributions from both corporate entities and individual taxpayers.
The net Direct tax collections of the country have reached more than half (52.5 percent) of the total budget estimates (BE) of Rs 18.23 lakh crore for the whole-year, this transitional figures for Direct Tax collections is noted up to October 9, 2023, and a consistent trend of growth is being observed.
Gross direct tax collections during this period have reached a significant figure of Rs.11.07 lakh crore, marking a considerable increase of 17.95 percent when compared to the gross collections in the previous year for the same period. This positive growth in tax revenue depicts the government’s ability to improve its fiscal resources, which can be helpful in supporting various public initiatives and other budgetary requirements of the country.
When analyzing the growth rates for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in terms of gross revenue collections, the growth rate for CIT stands at 7.30 percent, whereas PIT without STT (Securities Transaction Tax) stands at 29.53 percent and PIT including STT stands at 29.08 percent. However, after accounting the refunds, net growth in CIT collections comes to 12.39 percent, PIT collections is more substantial at 32.51 percent when considering PIT alone, and 31.85 percent when considering STT. These figures highlights the relative strength and growth in both corporate tax and personal income tax collections.
Refunds amount totaling to Rs 1.5 lakh crore have been disbursed between April 2023 and 9th October 2023. This expenses aligned with the direct tax collection target that was set in the 2023-24 budget, which exceeds Rs 18.23 lakh crore. Notably, there is 9.75 percent increase when compared to the previous fiscal year where direct tax collections amounted to Rs 16.61 lakh crore. The expansion in the projected direct tax collection spotlights the government’s fiscal ambitions for the current financial year.
