Collections could go up further in the final tally as the numbers reflected calculations till 11.30 pm on September 15 – the last day for paying advance tax for the second quarter.
“Tax collection is expected to increase when further information is received from banks on Monday,” an official said.
The government will likely release the official data next week.
Robust advance tax collections are an indicator of healthy corporate performance and an underlying strong economy.
“Healthy advance tax numbers suggest that the economic growth momentum has continued in the second quarter, as suggested by various high frequency indicators,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating agency ICRA.”It is likely that the cumulative tax revenues will display a healthier trend at end September 2023, helping soften the rise in the fiscal deficit relative to the year-ago period,” she added.Of the total advance tax collected in the first two quarters of the fiscal, corporate tax accounted for ₹2.80 lakh crore and personal income tax for ₹74,481 crore, people cited above said.
Advance tax collections for the first half of 2022-23 were ₹2.95 lakh crore. Advance tax collections for the first quarter of this fiscal stood at ₹1.16 lakh crore.
Gross tax collections till September 15 this fiscal stood at ₹9.85 lakh crore. The government has issued ₹1.22 lakh crore as refunds so far this year.
Positive outlook
So, net tax collections stand at ₹8.63 lakh crore, up 23% year on year.
Among the minor heads, in the first half, tax deducted at source stood at ₹5.13 lakh crore, while self-assessment tax was at ₹82,187 crore including security transaction tax of ₹12,995 crore. Equalisation levy for the period was ₹1,581 crore.
“Stand-alone growth of second quarter advance tax at 20% shows continued positive outlook,” said Rahul Garg, partner at Pricewaterhouse & Co LLP. “Together with consistent robust GST, the revenue target seems to be on the right path and pace.”
The Centre has budgeted direct tax collection of ₹18.20 lakh crore for FY24, estimated to grow at 9.6%, slower than the direct tax collection growth in the last fiscal year. Budget estimate (BE) for direct tax revenue in the last fiscal (FY23) was at ₹14.2 lakh crore. It was later revised to ₹16.5 lakh crore, and still settled marginally higher at ₹16.61 lakh crore.
