Direct tax collection misses mark by 15%

The second instalment of advance tax that was paid on September 15 failed to cheer up income tax authorities in Mumbai. Manish Pachouly reports.

The second instalment of advance tax that was paid on September 15 failed to cheer up income tax authorities in Mumbai.

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With the manufacturing, petrochemical, fertiliser and pharmaceutical sectors not performing well, Mumbai witnessed a growth of only 15% in gross direct tax collection from April to mid-September.

The growth ideally should have been around 30%, as the tax collection target set for the current financial year (2011-2012) is 33% more than the collection made in the last financial year.

The direct tax collection target for Mumbai for the current financial year is Rs2.04 lakh crore, whereas the collection made in the last financial year was Rs1.53 lakh crore.

This year, the gross collection in Mumbai so far — following the second instalment of advance tax — stood at Rs80,000 crore.

Another worrying factor is the negative growth in the net collection that has gone down by 3%, as compared to last year, because of the large amount of refunds issued.

The net collection in the city is Rs56,000 crore.

The I-T department in Mumbai issued refunds worth Rs24,000 crore from April to mid-September, which could be a reason of joy for taxpayers, but the department is worried about achieving the target.

The refunds issued this year are 126% more than last year for the same period.

“All hopes now lie on the third instalment of advance tax that is payable by December 15,” said a senior I-T official requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

He said the third installment is most crucial because it would decide whether the city would be able to achieve the target or not. “We have little hopes following the September instalment,” the official said.

The department collects advance tax in four instalments that have to be paid by fifteenth of June (15%), September (30%), December (30%) and March (25%).

Advance tax contributes around 50% to the overall direct tax collection in Mumbai.