'Fiscal deficit position to improve in Jan-Mar quarter'

The Finance Ministry is expecting an improvement in the fiscal position in January-March quarter on a likely pick up in tax revenue realisation, receipts from spectrum auction and stake sale of PSUs.
"Fiscal deficit will not be an issue as 50 per cent of the tax revenue usually comes in the fourth quarter. We are also expecting revenues from spectrum auction and disinvestment to come in the fourth quarter," sources said.
The government's fiscal deficit for April-November, the first eight months of the current financial year ending March 2015, touched 98.9 per cent, or Rs 5.08 lakh crore, of the Budget estimate. The fiscal deficit in 2014-15 is estimated to be at Rs 5.31 lakh crore or 4.1 per cent of the GDP.

The fiscal deficit had stood at 93.9 per cent of the Budget estimates in April-November of 2013-14 fiscal.
Sources further said that tax buoyancy has been affected by the fall in inflation as nominal gross domestic product, on which tax revenue growth is calculated, has seen a decline.
They said gross tax collections since April have grown 14 per cent year-on-year. However, net tax collections have been lower than estimated on account of refunds.

Service tax mop-up rose 10.8 per cent to Rs 92,903 crore during April-November. Income tax collections rose 10.4 per cent on year to Rs 1.40 lakh crore.

Lastly, the official said the only problem affecting the indirect tax collections is lower mop up of excise duties.
Excise duty collection during April-November contracted 2.7 per cent to Rs 85,925 crore rupees, while customs mop-up rose 9.3 per cent on year to Rs 1.202 lakh crore.