Net direct tax collection for the current financial year slipped 1.39% to Rs 4.59 lakh crore as of June 19, government data released on Saturday showed. The dip is attributed to muted growth in advance tax payments and a surge in refund issuances.
Advance tax collections, a key indicator of corporate profitability and individual income, rose by just 3.87% year-on-year to Rs 1.56 lakh crore. This is a sharp slowdown compared to the 27% growth recorded during the same period last year.
Within this, corporate advance tax payments increased by 5.86% to Rs 1.22 lakh crore, while non-corporate payments, including those from individuals, HUFs and firms, declined by 2.68% to Rs 33,928 crore.
Advance tax is paid in four instalments — in June, September, December, and March. Refund issuances increased by 58 per cent to Rs 86,385 crore till June 19, this fiscal. Gross direct tax collection stood at Rs 5.45 lakh crore so far this fiscal, logging a growth of 4.86 per cent from the year-ago period.
Overall, the net direct tax collection kitty stood at about Rs 4.59 lakh crore in the fiscal till June 19, 2025, registering a 1.39 per cent dip from Rs 4.65 lakh crore collected in the corresponding period in 2024.
During April 1-June 19, 2025, net corporate tax collection witnessed a slowdown at about Rs 1.73 lakh crore, a decline of over 5 per cent year on year.
Non-corporate tax collections, which include mainly personal income tax, however, recorded a slight increase of 0.7 per cent to Rs 2.73 lakh crore. Securities Transaction Tax (STT) grew 12 per cent to Rs 13,013 crore during the period.
In the current fiscal (2025-26), the government has projected its direct tax collections at Rs 25.20 lakh crore, up 12.7 per cent year on year. The government has collected 18.21 per cent of its direct tax target till June 19. The government aims to collect Rs 78,000 crore from STT in FY26.
(With inputs from PTI)