The direct tax collection in the first six months of the financial year grew 16.7 per cent to Rs 5.47 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
Refunds amounting to Rs 1.03 lakh crore have been issued during April-September 2018, 30.4 per cent higher than the amount refunded in the same period a year ago.
The provisional figures of direct tax collections till September 2018 show that gross collections are at Rs 5.47 lakh crore, 16.7 per cent higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period last year, the ministry said in a statement.
Net collections (after adjusting for refunds) have increased 14 per cent to Rs 4.44 lakh crore during April-September 2018.
“While the overall growth in direct tax collections for the first half of 2018-19 is encouraging, what is particularly inspiring is the steep increase in the growth rate in corporate advance tax collections compared with last year,” Pranav Sayta, partner & transaction tax leader, EY India, said.
The net direct tax collections represent 38.6 per cent of the total budget estimates of Rs 11.50 lakh crore for the current fiscal. The gross corporate income tax collection (CIT) grew 19.5 per cent, while the personal income tax (PIT) mop-up was up 19.1 per cent.
After adjustment of refunds, the net growth in CIT collections is 18.7 per cent and that in PIT is 14.9 per cent, the ministry said.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has collected Rs 2.10 lakh crore as advance tax, 18.7 per cent higher than the corresponding period of last year. The growth rate of corporate advance tax is 16.4 per cent and that of personal income advance tax is 30.3 per cent, the ministry added.