Gross direct tax collections grew by a mere 6.59 per cent during the April-October period this fiscal in a clear reflection of the deceleration in industrial growth and subdued economic activity.
According to a Finance Ministry statement here, gross collections of direct taxes during the seven months of 2012-13 were up by 6.59 per cent at Rs.3,02,810 crore as against Rs.2,84,081 crore in the same period last year.
With the growth rate in factory output declining to a paltry 0.4 per cent during the April-August period, corporate tax collections continued to lag in the months ahead and notched up a growth of just 2.01 per cent at Rs.1,93,679 crore during April-October this fiscal as against Rs.1,89,872 crore in the same period of 2011-12.
However, the growth in personal income tax collection remained comparatively healthier and was up 15.78 percent at Rs.1,08,569 crore as against Rs.93,769 crore in the same period last fiscal. Accordingly, ostensibly owing to lower refunds, net direct tax collections were up by 14.63 per cent and stood pegged at Rs.2,50,866 crore during the seven-month period of 2012-13 as compared to Rs.2,18,850 crore in the same period in the last fiscal.
While collections by way of wealth tax grew by a robust 25.84 per cent to Rs.526 crore from Rs.418 crore last fiscal, the mop-up through Securities Transaction Tax (STT) declined by 15.42 per cent to Rs.2,502 crore in the April-October period as against Rs.2,958 crore in the corresponding period of 2011-12.
However, in recent weeks, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had expressed confidence on achieving the direct tax collections target of Rs.5.70 lakh crore for 2012-13 stating that the mop-up would improve in the second-half of the fiscal year.
