New Delhi: Direct tax collections which comprise primarily personal income tax and corporate tax surged 48.4 per cent year-on-year to Rs 13.63 lakh crore in financial year 2021-22 (till March 16) showing strong economic recovery and rebound in job markets. The net direct tax collection of Rs 13.63 lakh crore include corporation tax (CIT) of Rs 7.19 lakh crore (net of refund) and personal income tax (PIT) including security transaction tax (STT) of Rs 6.40 lakh crore (net of refund). “Collection of Rs 13,63,038.3 crore as on 16.03.2022 is as against a target of Rs 11.08 lakh crore (BE) as revised to Rs 12.50 lakh crore (RE),” said a Finance Ministry statement. The cumulative advance tax collections for the FY 2021-22 stand at Rs 6.62 lakh crore as on March 16, against advance tax collections of Rs 4.70 lakh crore for the corresponding period of the immediately preceding financial year showing a growth of about 40.75 per cent. According to official data released on Thursday, the advance tax figure of Rs 6.62 lakh crore comprises corporation tax (CIT) of Rs 4.84 lakh crore and personal income tax (PIT) of Rs 1.78 lakh crore. This amount is expected to increase as further information is awaited from banks, said Finance Ministry. “Refunds amounting to Rs 1,87,325.9 crore have also been issued in the FY 2021-22 so far,” it noted. Commenting on the direct tax collection figures, HDFC Bank chief economist Abheek Barua said that the data reflected healthy corporate sector performance and limited impact of Omicron on economic activities. “There is no doubt that formal corporate sector has seen pretty good rebound for about three quarters now and also points to the fact that Omicron did not affect economic activities that much as picked up by all high-frequency indicators,” Barua told UNI. He further said that there has also been huge demand for white-collar workers and wages had gone up, and this has been validated by the growth in direct tax collections. “I certainly welcome this news but I would not entirely forget about some problem areas,” he noted pointing to MSME and informal sector for which enough data is not available. UNI NK
