Net Direct Tax
India’s net direct tax collections for the fiscal year ending March 2024 experienced a robust increase of 17.7 percent year-on-year, reaching Rs 19.58 lakh crore, exceeding the revised estimates by Rs 13,000 crore, as reported by the tax department. Gross direct tax collections (provisional) for the same fiscal year rose by 18.48 percent to Rs 23.37 lakh crore. After accounting for refunds, the net proceeds surged by 17.7 percent to Rs 19.58 lakh crore, indicating the buoyancy in the economy and the escalation in income levels of both individuals and corporations.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stated in a release that refunds totaling Rs 3.79 lakh crore were issued during the fiscal year 2023-24.
“The provisional data on DT collections for the financial year (FY) 2023-24 indicates that net collections have reached Rs 19.58 lakh crore, compared to Rs 16.64 lakh crore in the previous financial year, FY 2022-23,” stated the report. It further noted that the initial Budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 had projected collections at Rs 18.23 lakh crore, which were later revised to Rs 19.45 lakh crore.
“The provisional Direct Tax collections (net of refunds) have surpassed the Budget Estimate by 7.40 percent and the Revised Estimates by 0.67 percent,” it added.
The gross collection (provisional), before adjusting for refunds, for FY 2023-24 amounted to Rs 23.37 lakh crore, marking an 18.48 percent increase over the gross collection of Rs 19.72 lakh crore in FY 2022-23.
Provisionally, the GCT collection in FY 2023-24 rose by 13.06 percent to Rs 11.32 lakh crore compared to Rs 10 lakh crore in the preceding year. Meanwhile, the provisional net corporate tax collection for FY 2023-24 reached Rs 9.11 lakh crore, indicating a growth of 10.26 percent over the net corporate tax collection of Rs 8.26 lakh crore in the previous year.
The provisional gross personal income tax collection, including Securities Transaction Tax (STT), in FY 2023-24 stood at Rs 12.01 lakh crore, showing a substantial increase of 24.26 percent over the previous year’s collection of Rs 9.67 lakh crore. Similarly, the provisional net personal income tax collection, including STT, for FY 2023-24 amounted to Rs 10.44 lakh crore, representing a growth of 25.23 percent over the preceding fiscal year’s figure of Rs 8.33 lakh crore.
Additionally, refunds totaling Rs 3.79 lakh crore were issued in FY 2023-24, reflecting a notable increase of 22.74 percent over the refunds of Rs 3.09 lakh crore issued in FY 2022-23, as stated in the report.
India recorded growth above 8 percent for three consecutive quarters (April-December), leading various agencies to revise their growth estimates for FY24 closer to 8 percent.
