I-T dept eyes 43% growth in collections

The income tax department is aiming at a growth of 43 per cent in tax collections in Andhra Pradesh this fiscal. Last fiscal, I-T collections in the state were to the tune of Rs 4,820 crore.

"In 2005-06, our target is to collect Rs 6,921 crore. As on January 31, our collections stood at Rs 4,548 crore," J L Giridhar, director general, I-T (investigations) told mediapersons here.

"We are confident of achieving our targets as there are several new assessees who have submitted their returns in this financial year. Besides, the department has intensified the search and seize operations across the state," he said.

According to him, of the 57,539 new assessees who have submitted their returns in the state this year, about 2,000 are in the more than Rs 10-lakh annual income bracket. Through its central information branch, the department is getting tip off from various sources on people with tax payable income. It has found this very effective in issuing notices to such people and collecting taxes, he said.

"During last fiscal, we could collect only Rs 18.63 crore in 30 search operations across the state. This financial year, tax collections have surpassed our expectations. By the end of December, I-T officials conducted 55 raids on tax evaders and collected Rs 27.5 crore," he said, adding the search operations would be intensified.

Incidentally, the central information branch this year received information on 32.42 lakh cases as against 16 lakh cases in the previous year.