Advance upset triggers finmin ire on tax dodge

The strongly-worded message is based on some data mining on the number of people who made large credit card payments, made fixed deposits or purchased homes, bonds and mutual funds.

The ministry was counting on a 14% jump in direct tax collection this year to Rs 5.6 lakh crore but last month, minister of state for finance SS Palanimanickam did not mention this target while replying to a question in Parliament. He said it was expected that direct receipts this fiscal would exceed last fiscal’s collection. In fact, direct tax receipts had marginally fallen short of the targeted Rs 5 lakh crore last fiscal as well.

While data highlight a less rosy picture of tax receipts in the first half, finance minister P Chidambaram believes things would improve in the coming months. Gross direct tax receipts grew by a modest 6.5% in the April-October period to Rs 3.02 lakh crore as interest rates and uncertain economic climate affected corporate income tax receipts. However, less refund of taxes during the period compared to the same time a year ago, helped the net direct tax collection to grow 14.63% to Rs.2.50 lakh crore. Officials said on Friday that net direct tax receipts grew 15% to Rs 2.7 lakh crore in the April-November period.

Tax collection figures falling below estimate is not surprising, considering the sluggish 5.3% economic growth in the second

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