Direct tax collections in the first five months of the current fiscal increased 17.5 per cent to Rs 2.24 lakh crore, mainly on account of income tax mop-ups from individuals rising.
The report said that the collections in the April-August period constitute 22.9 per cent of the total budget estimates of direct taxes, which comprise personal income and corporate tax, for the current financial year 2017-18.
"The direct tax collections up to August 2017 continue to register steady growth. Direct tax collection, net of refunds, stands at Rs 2.24 lakh crore which is 17.5 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year," a finance ministry statement said on Monday.
The statement said that growth rate for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT), including Securities Transaction Tax, in terms of gross revenue collections was 5 percent and 16 percent respectively.
Refunds amounting to Rs 74,089 crore were issued in the period from April 2017 to August 2017, which were 7.2 percent lower than refunds issued during the corresponding period of 2016-17, the finance ministry statement said.
However, after adjusting for the refunds, the net growth in CIT collections was 18.1 percent while that of PIT collections was 16.5 percent.
In the April-August period of the previous fiscal, 2016-17, direct tax collections had grown 15.03 per cent to Rs 1.89 lakh crore.
