Direct tax collection stood at Rs 7.52 lakh crore in April-January

The government has collected over Rs 7.52 lakh crore as direct taxes till January 31 of the current fiscal, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. The Revised Estimate (RE) has pegged the target for collection of direct taxes for the current fiscal, which ends on March 31, at Rs 11.70 lakh crore.

"The total amount collected under direct tax collection, as on 31st January, 2020 is Rs 7,52,472 crore," Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Direct Tax includes corporate and income tax.

He said the last advance tax instalment is due in March 2020, and hence it is little premature to predict the final collection of direct taxes for the current year at this stage.

In a separate reply, Thakur said RE for current fiscal has projected revenue receipts at Rs 18.50 lakh crore, lower than Rs 19.62 lakh crore projected in the Budget.

"Lower estimated RE 2019-20 in respect of corporation tax, taxes on income, customs duty, excise duty and Goods and Services Tax have resulted in the revenue receipts being lower than the budget targets," Thakur said.

The fiscal deficit estimated for the current fiscal has been revised upwards to 3.8 per cent of GDP, from the budgeted 3.3 per cent.