Tax collections up 22 p.c. in April-May

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 9. There has been a sharp jump in income-tax and corporate tax collections during April and May this year, the collections being double the amount collected in the same period in the previous year.

Overall collections of all taxes have also gone up in the first two months of the current financial year to Rs. 21,059 crores from Rs. 17,288 crores in the first two months of the last financial year. The increase works out to 21.81 per cent against a target of 17 per cent buoyancy set in the 2000-01 Union Budget.

Giving out the figures, the Minister of State for Finance (Revenue), Mr. V. Dhananjay Kumar, said here today that direct tax collections during April-May this year were placed at Rs. 4,081.32 crores against Rs. 2,003.33 crores collected in the same months last year.

Mr Kumar attributed this sharp increase to enhanced collections and lower amount of refunds this year as compared to last year. In direct tax collections, income-tax accounted for Rs. 3,969.24 crores against Rs. 2,673 crores. Net corporation tax collections were placed at Rs. 75.70 crores against a negative collection of Rs. 442 crores in the same period of last year. Actually corporate tax collections were around Rs. 886 crores, but with refunds being paid, the net collections stood at Rs. 75.70 crores this year. Last year, the refunds were more than the collections and the net figure turned out to be negative, the Minister said. Other taxes brought in the net amount to Rs. 36.38 crores, he added.

On the indirect tax front, total collections of excise and customs were Rs. 16,977.29 crores against Rs. 15,248.39 crores in April-May 1999, reflecting a 11.08 per cent increase. In this, excise duties contributed Rs. 8,971.92 crores up to the end of May, about 11.62 per cent higher than Rs. 8,037.62 crores collected in the same months of the last financial year. Collections of customs revenue were Rs. 7,511.12 crores against Rs. 6,760.71 crores in the same months last year. The growth worked out to 11.10 per cent.

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