Gross direct tax kitty swells 16%, crosses Rs 27L crore in FY25 – Times of India-OxBig News Network

NEW DELHI: Gross direct tax collections rose 15.6% to top Rs 27 lakh crore during the last fiscal year, while refunds went up 26% to an all-time high of a little under Rs 4.8 lakh crore, provisional data released by the finance ministry showed.
The provisional net direct tax collection, which was up 13.6% to just under Rs 22.3 lakh crore, was in line with the target set for the 2024-25 financial year. The provisional net direct tax collections are 100.8% of the budget target and 99.5% of the revised estimate presented in Feb.

The tax numbers, both direct and indirect, as well as the savings expected on the expenditure front during the last financial year, indicate that govt may end up closing the year with a better-than-budgeted fiscal deficit. The revised estimates presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman pegged the fiscal deficit at 4.8% of GDP, as against the budget estimate of 4.9%.
On a gross basis, income tax collections rose 17.6% to Rs 13.7 lakh crore, while corporation tax mop-up was 12.4% higher at Rs 12.7 lakh crore. The gap between the two main sources of direct taxes widened as a result.