Advance tax collection up 16% in Mumbai

Advance tax collections in Mumbai, the country's commercial hub, has posted 16 per cent growth. It touched Rs 4,883 crore for the third quarter ended December 2004 as against Rs 4,203 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

For the financial year, the tax collections till December 2004 stood at Rs 14,000 crore as against Rs 12,200 crore last year.

These preliminary figures, however, indicate only the trend, warn income tax officials. The final figures are still being compiled.

In the last quarter ended September, the advance tax mop up was Rs 5,500-5,600 crore as against Rs 4,600-4,700 crore last year, a rise of 16 per cent.

While the first quarter recorded a growth of over 100 per cent at around Rs 5,700 crore as against Rs 2,200 crore in the last fiscal.

There has been a qualitative change in the tax payers' profile as well. Most of the banks and oil companies have gone out of the list of top 10 corporate tax payers, according to income-tax officials.

One of the top tax payers Indian Oil, which had paid Rs 158 crore in September (2004) quarter and Rs 643 crore in December 2003, has not paid any advance tax this quarter. It is not known whether the PSU oil giant had cleared the bulk of its tax liability in the first two quarters.

Advance tax payment by Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) went down by 61 per cent - from Rs 247 crore to Rs 95 crore.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has replaced State Bank of India as the top tax paper by paying Rs 630 crore for the quarter. SBI comes second with Rs 584 crore. LIC posted a 42.53 per cent rise in its advance tax payment and SBI 18.22 per cent.

Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation registered the highest increase in payment of advance taxes - from Rs 6.73 crore December 2003 to Rs 286 crore in December 2004.

Tax collection from Bank of Baroda (Rs 60 crore) has fallen by 68 per cent, Bank of India (Rs 50 crore) is down 64 per cent and ICICI Bank at Rs 100 crore is 26 per cent less than last year's.

A few manufacturing companies have made it to the top 10 list. Besides Tata Steel at Rs 560 crore (Rs 220 crore), the list includes Grasim at Rs 156 crore (Rs 85 crore), Bajaj Auto at Rs 125 crore (Rs 108 crore) and Hindalco at Rs 110 crore (Rs 62 crore).

Most of the broking and insurance firms have not done well in advance tax payments. Citicorp slipped from Rs 8.50 crore to Rs 4.75 crore, while ICICI Lombard fell from Rs 1.60 crore to Rs 75 lakh.

General Insurance Corporation did not pay tax for the quarter.

Among finance companies, which have registered a rise in tax payment, are Warburg and Solomon Smith Barney.

Collections

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• For the financial year, the tax collections till December 2004 stood at Rs 14,000 crore as against Rs 12,200 crore last year.
• In the last quarter ended September, the advance tax mop up was Rs 5,500-5,600 crore as against Rs 4,600-4,700 crore last year
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