Direct tax surges to Rs.5.57 lakh cr during Apr-Dec: Jaitley

The Dollar Business Bureau 

Government’s direct tax treasury has increased to Rs.5.57 lakh crore during the period April 1-December 19, 2016, thereby attaining 65% of the budget estimates. 

The mop up from indirect taxes that consist of excise, customs and service tax surged 26.2% to Rs.7.53 lakh crore, in the period from April to November. 

Belying the slowdown fears in industrial activity after demonetisation, the collection from indirect tax in the month of November alone increases 23.1% to Rs.67,358 crore. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that regardless of what critics had estimated, the figures shown that until November 30, there is a considerable increase in the indirect taxes. 

“We have also tried to check the figures for the month of November which could have been adversely impacted on account of the currency replacement compared to the November of 2015. On year-to-year basis, in November 2016, for all the three indirect taxes, the collection is much high,” Jaitley said. 

In the month of November alone, the collection from customs surged by 16.1% to Rs.20,510 crore, from excise by 33.7% to Rs.29,664 crore, and from service tax by 15.5% to Rs.17,178 crore. 

The government is expecting a growth of 12.64% in direct taxes at Rs.8.47 lakh crore for this financial year and 10.8% growth in indirect taxes at Rs.7.79 lakh crore. 

Till December 19, Rs.5.57 lakh crore has already been mopped up, achieving 65% of the budget target. 

Till the third quarter, payments from advance tax have surged 14% against a growth of 7.3% in the corresponding period of last fiscal. 

Mentioning that the figures of revenues itself are more significant, Jaitley said, “Notwithstanding what has been predicted by the critics in all the categories until November 30, there is a considerable growth in indirect taxation. There is an increase of 26.2% in the central indirect taxes.”