Govt Apr-Jun direct tax mop up at 574 bln rupees, up 39% on year

[K.Karthik Raja]

Govt Apr-Jun direct tax mop up at 574 bln rupees, up 39% on year
Friday, Jul 4
.
NEW DELHI - India's direct tax collection for Apr-Jun, the first
quarter
of financial year 2008-09, rose a robust 38.6% on year to 573.73 bln
rupees, the finance ministry said today.
Corporate tax collections for the quarter rose 32.6% to 345.66 bln
rupees
compared with 260.58 bln rupees a year ago. Income tax mop up for the
period
was at 227.82 bln rupees, up 48.8% from 153.06 bln rupees a year ago.
The budget is targeting direct tax collection of 3.65 trln rupees
this
financial year. For 2007-08, the government had managed to mop up 3.14
trln
rupees as direct tax compared with the revised budget estimate of 3.04
trln
rupees.
Last month, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had asked Central
Board of
Direct Taxes to aim 4-trln-rupee direct tax collection in the current
financial year, up 350 bln rupees from the budget target.
The finance minister's appeal to the tax department came in the
wake of a
projected shortfall in indirect tax collections.
The government has cut customs and excise duties on a number of
items
after the 2008-09 Budget to curb inflationary pressures in the economy
and to
reduce the impact of spike in crude oil prices on public sector oil
marketing
companies.
The government is likely to lose about 300 bln rupees on account
of the
customs and excise duty cuts this year.
The Budget aimed indirect tax mop-up of 3.21 trln rupees in
2008-09. End