Advance corporate tax payments surge 49% in Q3FY2021

Advance tax payments from companies have shown a 49 per cent growth for the third quarter of this fiscal (FY2021), clocking Rs 1,09,506 crore.

A source from the Central Board of Direct Taxes revealed the development, which shows an overall improvement in direct tax collections; the dip in the collections stands at 13 per cent as of now, as against 22 per cent at the start of November.

The recovery can be attributed to the low base last fiscal of FY2020 when the government had cut corporate tax rates to a record low of 25 per cent in the third quarter, leading to lower tax payout by companies. During the corresponding quarter last fiscal (Q3FY2020), corporate advance taxes stood at Rs 73,126 crore.

The gross tax collection for the quarter stood at Rs 7,33,715 crore, while the total mop-up stood at Rs 5,87,605, the CBDT source told PTI on Thursday.

Also Read: Wistron estimates Rs 52 crore loss after protests at the Karnataka plant

The net advance corporate tax has amounted to Rs 2,39,125 crore so far this year, down almost 5 per cent from Rs 2,51,382 crore in the year-ago period. This decrease can be attributed to the first two quarters of FY2021 being disrupted due to coronavirus-mandated lockdown.

Advance tax collections under personal income taxes, however, lie in the negative zone. Advance personal income tax has declined 5.6 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 31,054 crore from Rs 32,910 crore, while for the fiscal it has come down by 10.4 per cent on annual basis to Rs 60,491 from Rs 67,542. This is generally attributed to the loss of jobs and incomes for many individuals starting March 2020.

Meanwhile, GST collections are also picking up with mop-up crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for two months in a row, providing the government with some comfort on the fiscal front.

Also read: India votes to remove cannabis from 'most dangerous drugs' list in UN