Advance tax collection up by 23 pc

The economy could well be slowly getting back on track. This is evident from a 23 per cent growth in advance tax collection till the third quarter of the current financial year.

The economy could well be slowly getting back on track. This is evident from a 23 per cent growth in advance tax collection till the third quarter of the current financial year.

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Top 100 companies in Mumbai have so far paid advance tax of Rs 33,948 crore (from April to December). That is Rs 6,389 crore more than the collection during the same period last year — growth of 23.1 per cent.

For the December quarter alone, for which the last date was Tuesday, the 100 top companies in the city paid Rs 13,041 crore.

This is Rs 2,537 crore more (24.2 per cent) than the collection for December quarter last year.

The Income Tax department collects advance tax from companies in four installments - June, September, December and March. It has to be paid by the 15th of these months for that particular quarter.

Mumbai contributes over 40 per cent to the country’s total collection.

A senior Income Tax (I-T) official said the reason for the growth is good performance, especially by the automobile sector. “The automobile sector has done tremendously well as compared to last year,” the official said, adding that the banking sector’s too had done well.

However, the department is worried about the oil sector, which has not paid any advance tax in this quarter.

“We are also keeping our fingers crossed for the final quarter of March because we are not sure if the banking sector will perform in a similar manner,” the official said.

R.K. Singh, chief commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai refused to comment.