FY24 direct tax collection up 20% at ₹15.60 lakh cr so far

Net direct tax collection in the current fiscal year to date rose 20.25% year on year (YoY) to ₹15.60 lakh crore, which constitutes 80% of the revised budget estimates for the entire fiscal year up to February 10.

“The provisional figures of direct tax collections continue to register steady growth. Direct tax collections up to 10th February 2024 show that gross collections are at ₹18.38 lakh crore, which is 17.30 per cent higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) says in a statement.

As of February 10 of FY24, the net direct tax collection, excluding refunds, has reached ₹15.60 lakh crore, marking a 20.25% surge compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. The figure represents 80.23% of the total revised estimates for direct taxes for the fiscal year 2023-24, the ministry of finance says.

From April 1, 2023, to February 10, 2024, refunds totalling ₹2.77 lakh crore have been issued.

There has been a consistent increase in gross revenue collections for both Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT). CIT saw a growth rate of 9.16%, while PIT recorded a growth rate of 25.67%, the ministry says.

Upon adjusting for refunds, the net growth in CIT collections stands at 13.57%, and for PIT, it is 26.91%.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman her budget speech on February 1, 2024, said that over the last 10 years, the direct tax collections have more than “trebled” and the return filers swelled to 2.4 times. “I would like to assure the taxpayers that their contributions have been used wisely for the development of the country and the welfare of its people. I appreciate the taxpayers for their support.”

Talking about indirect taxes, she had said that at the same time, the tax base of GST more than doubled and the average monthly gross GST collection has almost doubled to ₹1.66 lakh crore, this year. “States too have benefited. States’ SGST revenue, including compensation released to states, in the post-GST period of 2017-18 to 2022-23, has achieved a buoyancy of 1.22.”

As of January 10, 2024, the finance ministry had stated that the gross collections reached ₹17.18 lakh crore, marking a 16.77% increase compared to the corresponding period last year. The net direct tax collection, after refunds, stood at ₹14.70 lakh crore, reflecting a 19.41% rise from the net collections of the same period in the previous year. This collection amounted to 80.61% of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for the fiscal year 2023-24.