Advance tax collection for H1 swells 22.6% to Rs 4.36 lakh crores

Advance tax collections in India increased by 22.61% to ₹4.36 lakh crores in the first half of the current financial year, indicating strong corporate performance and a robust economy. Net direct tax collections rose 16.12% to ₹9.95 lakh crores, with personal income tax showing significant growth over corporate income tax. The Government’s advance tax collections rose 22.61% to ₹4.36 lakh crores in the first half of the current financial year (April- September 15), signaling a strong corporate performance and robust economy, official data released on Wednesday showed. This includes advance corporate tax of ₹3,31 lakh crores and advance personal tax of ₹1,04 lakh crores. The advanced tax collections in the corresponding period last year stood at ₹3.55 lakh crores. The total advance tax collections for the first quarter (April 1 to June 15) were ₹1.48 lakh crores. On the back of strong advance tax numbers, net direct tax collections rose 16.12% to ₹9.95 lakh crores in the period under review. This includes corporate tax of ₹4.52 lakh crores and personal income tax of ₹5.15 lakh crores and security transaction tax of ₹26,154 crores. The gross direct tax collection, without adjusting for refunds, was ₹12.01 lakh crores, up 21.48%. The Government issued refunds worth ₹2.05 lakh crores, 56.5% higher than refunds issued in the same period last year. “Personal income tax continues to show strong growth and is pulling ahead of corporate income tax – a continuing trend over the last two years,” Rohinton Sidhwa, Partner, Deloitte India, said, adding that advance tax also shows strong growth over the previous year indicating the inherent strength and growth of the economy. The Government collected ₹19.58 lakh crores as net direct tax in 2023-24, 17.1% more than in the previous fiscal, exceeding the revised estimates by ₹13,000 crores. The center has budgeted ₹22.07 lakh crores from direct tax collections in this fiscal.