Google tax mop-up rises 64%, Bengaluru and Hyderabad top the list

Even as the US threatened retaliatory tariffs against India’s digital services tax, the collection of equalisation levy (or the so-called Google tax) saw 64 per cent growth after the third instalment deadline on Thursday. 

This complements improvement in direct tax collection, with contraction narrowing to 9.6 per cent as on January 7, against a double-digit decline seen till last month.

The digital levy, aimed at taxing non-resident e-commerce operators, mopped up Rs 1,436 crore after the third quarter (Q3), against Rs 877 crore collected in the same period last year, said a government official.

While the levy applied only to digital advertising services