Economists said the reductions were in line with expectations for the full year with growth forecasts in the negative, more so due to the lockdown which almost obliterated demand, consumption and economic activity in the first quarter. Lower tax payments, they said, also indicated possible deferral of payments owing to liquidity crunch being faced by businesses.
“For FY21 as a whole, we expect the net tax revenues of the Central Government to fall short of the FY21 budget estimates by ₹3.9 lakh crore,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA.
