SBI tops corporate tax payers list in Q1

State Bank of India (SBI) topped the list of corporate tax payers by paying Rs 234 crore to the government for the first quarter of 2004-05. This was marginally up from Rs 221 crore paid in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

However, tax officials say the share of private corporates in the tax collection figures was low during the quarter.

According to the officials, of the total corporate tax collection, more than 50 per cent is contributed by public sector undertakings. For the quarter ended June 2004, the gross tax collection stood at Rs 5,570 crore.

Since the refund during the period was to the tune of Rs 6,019 crore, the net collection was negative at -Rs 449 crore.

ICICI Bank, which features among the top 10 tax paying entities, has registered a rise of 230 per cent in tax payment by paying Rs 100 crore as against Rs 30 crore in the previous quarter.

The other top corporate tax payers were Life Insurance Corporation at Rs 201 crore (Rs 173 crore), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation at Rs 128 crore (Rs 125 crore), Indian Oil Corporation at Rs 121 crore (Rs 100 crore), Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation at Rs 117 crore (Rs 80 crore), Bank of India at Rs 80 crore (Rs 80 crore), Standard Chartered Bank at Rs 74 crore (Rs 55 crore) and Citibank at Rs 70 crore (Rs 60 crore).

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has raised the collection target for the Mumbai zone by around 25 per cent to Rs 44,000 crore for the fiscal 2004-05.

Actual collections from Mumbai crossed Rs 35,000 crore last fiscal. Incidentally, Mumbai accounts for more than 40 per cent of the total contribution to direct taxes.

According to tax officials, the increase in the target is in line with the government's focus on tax revenues.

They added that the government has also set recoverable arrears as one of the major source of revenues to plug the deficit.

While recoverable dues in the economy are estimated to be roughly at around Rs 54,000 crore, most of the dues are blocked in scam cases, liquidation matters and defunct companies.