Advance tax mop-up grew 12% in April-Dec period to Rs 5.21 trillion

Cumulative advance tax collections, both corporation and personal, have surged 12.83 per cent to Rs 5.21 trillion between April 1 and December 17, 2022, from Rs 4.62 trillion during the same period a year ago, according to data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Sunday.

Of the total, the corporation advance tax mop-up in the April-December period stood at Rs 3.97 trillion, while personal income tax collected in advance stood at Rs 1.23 trillion.

Advance tax is paid in four instalments instead of at the end of the fiscal year.

It is considered to be an indication of economic sentiment. The first instalment, or 15 per cent of advance tax, is to be paid by June 15, the second by September 15 (30 per cent), the third by December 15 (30 per cent), and the rest by March 15.

Net direct tax collection (net of refunds) for the current fiscal year grew 19.81 per cent to over Rs 11.35 trillion between April 1 and December 17, from Rs 9.47 trillion a year ago.

This included corporation tax collection (Rs 6.06 trillion) and personal income tax, including Securities Transaction Tax, or STT (over Rs 5.26 trillion). Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) for the ongoing fiscal year were up 25.9 per cent to over Rs 13.63 trillion, from Rs 10.83 trillion a year ago.

Minor head-wise collection comprises advance tax of Rs 5.21 trillion; tax deducted at source of Rs 6.44 trillion; self-assessment tax of Rs 1.4 trillion; regular assessment tax of Rs 46,244 crore; and tax under other minor heads of Rs 11,237 crore.

The gross collection of direct taxes (before refunds) was up 25.0 per cent at Rs 13.63 trillion, from Rs 10.83 trillion in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year, CBDT data showed

Refunds aggregating to over Rs 2.27 trillion have been issued in the current fiscal against Rs 1.35 trillion a year ago, up 68.57 per cent.

“There has been a remarkable increase in the speed of processing tax returns, with almost 95 per cent of the duly verified having been processed during the period,” says CBDT.