At Rs 10.6 trillion, net direct tax collection rises 23.4% in Apr-Nov

Net direct tax collection in the eight months of the current fiscal touched 58.34 per cent of Budget Estimates (BE) at Rs 10.64 trillion.

The net tax collection for April-November stood at Rs 10.64 trillion, which is 23.4 per cent higher than the corresponding period of last year, the Ministry of Finance said.

Gross collections, before issuing refunds, grew 17.7 per cent to Rs 12.67 trillion in the April-November period.

Refunds amounting to Rs 2.03 trillion issued from April to November of the current fiscal.

Special initiative was taken for cases where refunds had failed initially and subsequently issued to validated bank accounts, the ministry said.

In the current fiscal, Rs 18.23 trillion is expected to be collected in direct taxes (personal income tax and corporate tax), and Rs 15.38 trillion from indirect taxes (GST, customs, excise).

Earlier this week, a senior finance ministry official said that the government is likely to stick to the budgeted estimate of a total tax collection target of Rs 33.61 trillion for the current fiscal in the revised estimates.

So far, direct tax collection is up by about 20 per cent and indirect tax is higher by 5 per cent.