NEW DELHI: If direct tax collection and GST numbers are anything to go by, the government is likely to exceed its gross tax collection target of Rs 33 lakh crore in the current financial year. The tax collection trends show that the government can easily collect upwards of Rs 34.5 lakh crore in gross taxes in the current financial year.
The buoyancy in tax collection so far has been driven by direct taxes, and goods and services tax (GST) collections. Provisional net direct tax collections have shown a 20.66% year-on-year jump till December 17, 2023, in the current financial year.
Net collections (net of refunds) were at Rs 13.7 lakh crore in FY24 compared to Rs 11.35 lakh crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year. Corporation taxes accounted for Rs 6,94,798 crore (net of refund) and personal income tax including securities transaction tax (STT) were at Rs 6,72,962 crore (net of refund).
The government has budgeted for Rs 18.22 lakh crore from direct taxes in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). In a statement issued on Monday, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that refunds amounting to Rs 225,251 crore have also been issued in FY24 till December 17, 2023.
Meanwhile, Central GST collections till November 2023 stood about 5.4 lakh crore, which is 14% higher than the current financial year. The government has budgeted for Rs 9.56 lakh crore from CGST. Monthly GST collection in November was at Rs 1.68 lakh crore. It is for the sixth time that gross monthly GST collection has crossed Rs 1.60 lakh crore mark in FY24.
The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that the average gross monthly collection in the current financial year has been `1.66 lakh crore compared to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in FY23.
The same buoyancy, though has not been witnessed in customs and excise duty collections. Customs duty collections have largely been stagnant with total collections at Rs 1.24 lakh crore till October 2023 compared to Rs 1.23 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year.
Excise duty collections by the central government have fallen YoY with Rs 1.5 lakh crore collected in the first seven months of FY24 compared to Rs 1.65 lakh crore during the same period last year. But the moderate collections in customs and excise duty would likely be made good by buoyancy in direct taxes and GST.
Revenues on the rise