KOCHI: The Direct Tax Revenue collection in Kerala has increased by 57.5 per cent in the past five years, according to the data released by the Income Tax Department. This was revealed by Pranab Kumar Das, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Kerala, during a function organised as part of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Aayakar Bhawan building in Kochi on Wednesday.
According to Pranab Kumar Das, Principal CCIT, Kerala, Income Tax collection is bettering in Kerala over the previous five years. The Direct Tax Revenue collections in Kerala for Financial Year 2013-14 stood at Rs 9,993 crore as against which the corresponding figure for the Financial Year 2017-18 is Rs 15,740 crore, which represented 57.5 per cent growth over 5 years.
The growth for the Financial Year 2017-18 alone was stated to be 20.5 per cent. The number of assessees added during the Financial Year 2017-18 was stated to be 2,94,171 leading to a total number of tax-paying assessees on record of 16,64,124.
B Murali Kumar, Director General Income Tax (Investigation), Kochi, pointed out as against the huge leap in Direct Tax revenue collections over the past few years, the cost of realising these collections had actually dropped to below 0.5 per cent, which was the lowest among all countries in the world. Therefore, he exhorted the authorities to expend more money and resources into enhancing infrastructure facilities and bettering the work environment for the Income Tax Department workforce.
The Aayakar Bhawan will be constructed at Old Railway Station Road with a space of 1,945.287 sq. metres. The ceremony was organised in coordination with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited, which has been contracted as the builder. The building is expected to be constructed and handed over by the NBCC to the Income-tax Department within a span of 18 months.
Pranab unveiled the plaque during the ceremony. He also described how the government of India requires funds for its running to implement welfare schemes and programmes, and how the Income Tax Department was a principal contributor in financing these. He said the adoption of new technology in Income Tax Department has made a huge impact. P Nageswara Rao, Chief Commissioner of GST, Kochi, Swapna Nanu Ambatt, Additional Commissioner of Income-tax, V M Jayadevan and O J Michael, Secretaries of the Income Tax Gazetted Officers’ Association and the Income Tax Employees’ Federation, also spoke on the occasion.
Delight Figures
The Direct Tax Revenue collections in Kerala for Financial Year 2013-14 stood at Rs 9,993 crore
For the Financial Year 2017-18, it is Rs 15,740 crore, which represented 57.5 per cent growth over 5 years.