Note ban, GST drag down Surat I-T dept’s tax collection

Surat: The demonetisation and Goods & Services Tax (GST) has had a negative impact on the annual tax collection of the Surat Income Tax department. For the first time in the last 15 years, the I-T department is lagging its target by almost 20% for the year 2018-19.
According to the official figures, the annual tax collection target for 2018-19 was Rs 4,665 crore against which the department managed to collect just Rs 3,737 crore, a shortfall of Rs 928 crore.

During the same period in previous year, the department had collected Rs 3,615 crore against the target of Rs 3,729 crore, thus clocking 7% growth in 2017-18.

Sources said that the major shortfall in the tax collection has been registered in range-3 of the I-T department that has the maximum tax payers from the diamond industry. The range-3 was able to achieve 47% target by collecting Rs 349 crore in taxes against the target of Rs 650 crore.

According to the comparative data, all the three ranges of the Surat I-T department had achieve more than 100% target in 2017-18. However, in the current financial year, they have have recorded negative growth with the tax collection remaining below 90%.

A senior I-T officer said, “The negative growth in the tax collection is not just limited to Surat or south Gujarat, but it is a pan-India phenomenon. This is due to the impact of the demonetisation and GST, especially on the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The major shortfall is witnessed in the tax collection from the diamond and textile sectors.”

He added, “The amount of refund to the tax payers has increased compared to last year. This year, the department approved Rs 1,152 crore in refund compared to Rs 879 crore in the previous year.”