Ignoring the economic blues, direct tax collections are once again painting a rosy picture. Direct tax collections for 2007-08 have surpassed the revised estimate (RE) of Rs 3,04,445 crore. Initial estimates suggest that they have exceeded the RE at least by a few thousand crores and have crossed Rs 3,04,485 crore.
Sources said corporate income tax collections have seen the highest gain and have crossed Rs 1,87,000 crore last fiscal as compared with the RE of Rs 1,86,125 crore. Personal income tax collections too have risen to over Rs 1,10,000 crore and more taxes are expected to flow in as banks are still collating the data. The RE for personal income tax has been fixed at Rs 1,18,320 crore.
This is the first time that direct tax collections have crossed the Rs 3-lakh crore mark. The Budget estimate for the last fiscal had been kept at a significantly lower Rs 2,67,490 crore.
Sources said more taxes are expected to come in the next few days. The department has fixed an internal target of anywhere between Rs 3,10,000 crore and Rs 3,20,000 crore for direct taxes. A clearer picture would only emerge by April-end.
Advance corporate tax collections in the March installment were very buoyant and the department collected over Rs 50,000 crore from it.
Meanwhile tax authorities expect to collect about Rs 3,000-4,000 crore as taxes from states and different ministries. Along with this, regular self-assessment of tax returns and notices sent to corporates and individual taxpayers should bring in another Rs 5,000 crore in direct taxes.