Direct tax collections surge 15.7% to Rs 6.75 lakh cr in April-November, says finance ministry

New Delhi: Gross direct tax collections surged 15.7 percent to Rs 6.75 lakh crore for April-November, the finance ministry said on Monday. Refunds worth Rs 1.23 lakh crore have been issued in the eight months of the current fiscal, which is 20.8 percent higher than refunds issued in the same period last year. [caption id=“attachment_4495585” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] “The provisional figures of direct tax collections up to November, 2018, show that gross collections are at Rs 6.75 lakh crore which is 15.7 percent higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year,” the finance ministry said in a statement. The net direct tax collections represent 48 percent of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for financial year 2018-19 (Rs 11.50 lakh crore). Gross collections in corporate income tax (CIT) and personal income tax (PIT) grew 17.7 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively. After adjustment of refunds, the net growth in CIT collections is 18.4 percent and that in PIT collections is 16 percent. The finance ministry said collections of the corresponding period of last fiscal also included extraordinary collections under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS), 2016, amounting to Rs 10,833 crore (third and last instalment of IDS), which do not form part of the current year’s collections.