Direct tax kitty swells by 30% till September, over 2x asking rate

NEW DELHI: Gross direct tax collections rose 30% to a little under Rs 8.4 lakh crore during the fiscal year up to September 17, when the second instalment of advance tax had been paid.
The current growth rate is more than twice the asking rate to meet the full year direct tax target of Rs 14.2 lakh crore. With around a fortnight to go for the half year of FY23 to end, direct tax collections are estimated at around 58% of the full year target.
But the pace of increase in mop-up has slowed from the 45% jump recorded between April and June 17, when the first instalment of advance tax was paid.
On Saturday, the finance ministry’s monthly economic report for August had said that “buoyancy in revenue growth is expected to remain undiminished” in the remaining part of the current year. The government and RBI are expecting strong festival demand.