The Centre’s direct tax collections, net of refunds, as of August 11 in the current financial year stood at Rs 6.93 trillion, which is 22.5% higher than the corresponding period of last year, an official release said.
Refunds during April 1 – August 11 stood at Rs 1.2 trillion, which is 33.5% higher than last year.
The direct tax data mop-up till August 11 accounted for 31% of the total target for the current fiscal. Whereas, last year, collections in the same period accounted for 29% of the target. This indicates robust tax collections, and shows that the mop-up may surpass the full-year’s target, say experts.
The Budget 2024-25 expects gross direct tax collections (net of refunds but before devolution to states) to grow at 13.3% on year.
Access to large amounts of data with the authorities coupled with interplay of exchange of information with various regulators and other bodies is one of the key factors, which has led to higher compliance, and thereby collections say experts.
“Ease of compliances including payment of taxes at a click of a button, processing of refund payments quickly by the tax department post income-tax return filing tax-payers have helped direct tax collections surge in this growing economy,” noted Dipesh Jain, partner at Economic Laws Practice (ELP).
Gross direct tax mop-up between April 1 – August 11 stood at Rs 8.13 trillion, up 24% from the year ago period, said the official release.
