Tax collections fall

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 15. Tax collections have fallen by 6.2 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal (April-September), not a good augury with the recession deepening in the economy following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and the bombing of Afghanistan.

Direct taxes have fallen by 7.5 per cent while indirect tax collection has shown a dip of 5.6 per cent. The decline in tax revenues from corporates by as much as 14.6 per cent largely accounts for the decrease in direct tax collections while a 16 per cent fall in customs duties is the main reason for the shrinkage in indirect taxes.

The shortfall in corporate tax that was nearly 64 per cent in April to June has now been improved to some extent with better realisation of advance tax in September. The Finance Ministry attributes the dismal performance in this sector to the grant of refunds that reached Rs. 11,322 crores as against Rs. 7,102 crores in the corresponding period last year.

As for the dip in customs collections, these are ascribed to the drop in imports and reduction in duty on crude oil and petroleum products. The reduction in the price of crude oil in the international markets has also affected import revenues.

According to the Finance Ministry, total collections of indirect and direct taxes in the first half of the fiscal amounted to Rs. 77,422 crores as compared to Rs. 82,539.18 crores in the corresponding period last year.

Income-tax collections are estimated at Rs. 12,885 crores as against Rs. 12,938.91 crores last year, a marginal fall of 0.4 per cent. Corporate tax collections, on the other hand, fell by 14.6 per cent from Rs. 13,450.33 crores to Rs. 11,487.96 crores. Total direct tax collections are estimated at Rs. 24,550.21 crores as against Rs. 26,540.77 crores.

In indirect taxes, excise collections rose by 1.3 per cent from Rs. 30,951.51 crores to Rs. 31,365.79 crores. Customs duty collections are estimated at Rs. 19,581.43 crores as against Rs. 23,331.75 crores, a dip of 16.1 per cent. Total indirect tax collections amounted to Rs. 52,871.79 crores as against Rs. 55,998.41 crores, a fall of 5.6 per cent.

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Section  : Business
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