India's net direct tax collection till June 15 in Q1FY24 up 11.5%

Advance tax payment up 15% in Q1

This report has been revised to include some additional information. The central government’s net direct tax collections from April 1 to June 15 of 2023-24 stood at Rs 3.77 trillion. This is an 11.5 per cent increase over Rs 3.39 trillion between April 1 and June 16 of FY23, data for which was released by the Revenue Department on June 17 last year.

The growth, mainly boosted by advance tax payment, indicates expectation of better corporate performance and an underlying economic growth.

Advance tax payment for the first quarter stood at Rs 1.16 trillion as on June 15, showing a growth rate of 15 per cent, compared with the government’s data of Rs 1.01 trillion between April 1 and June 16 of FY23.

June 15 was the deadline for the first instalment of advance tax. However, the data gets revised, as further information is received from banks over the next few days. 

The government typically releases direct tax collection figures through an official statement within a week of the due date. The final data for 2022-23 was significantly revised. (see table).

The advance tax collections for the first quarter of 2023-24 were reported at Rs 1.16 trillion as of June 15, according to an initial estimation. 

This would have represented an increase of 170 per cent when compared with the corresponding data for 2022-23 as on June 15 last year (at around Rs 43,000 crore). 

However, the advance tax collections data for 2022-23 was revised significantly a couple of days later – on June 17, 2022 – to Rs 1.01 trillion. Thus, the increase is only about 15 per cent. This data for 2023 is likely to be revised in the next few days and this could change the extent of increase.

Similarly, comparing the net direct tax collections of April 1 to June 15, 2023, with the same period a year ago, shows an increase of 35 per cent. However, the growth figure changes to 11.5 per cent, if compared with finance ministry FY22 figures, released on June 17, 2022.

Going by the year-on-year comparison of the same period, the net collection accounts for 20.77 per cent of the Budget target of Rs 18.2 trillion projected for FY24. This includes corporation tax about Rs 1.87 trillion and personal income tax at Rs 2.26 trillion.

The gross collection of direct taxes, before adjusting for refunds, stands at around Rs 4.17 trillion. Refunds amounting to Rs 39,390 crore have also been issued so far in the fiscal.

Other taxes which have showed good collection included the Securities Transaction Tax (a tax on total consideration paid or received in a share transaction) of Rs 4731 crore, self-assessment tax of Rs 17,834 crore, regular assessment tax of Rs 9,911 crore and dividend distribution tax of Rs 908 crore.

Mumbai topped the list with a mop-up of around Rs 1.07 trillion, 42 per cent more than what it collected in the same period a year ago. It is followed by Karnataka (Rs 46,696 crore, up 25 per cent) and Delhi (Rs 44,350 crore, up 34 per cent).
 

Pune and Tamil Nadu also showed growth in collection by 31 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.