Thursday, April 4, 2013

DIRECT TAX COLLECTION NET OF REFUNDS FOR FY 2012-13 FALLS SHORT OF ESTIMATES

FY13 direct tax mop-up short of RE by Rs 17k cr

The government’s direct tax collections in 2012-13 fell short of the revised estimate (RE) by about Rs 17,000 crore, pointing to the gloomy economic scenario.
The low collections may pose a challenge to the finance ministry’s efforts to restrict fiscal deficit for 2012-13 to 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The Centre’s revenue deficit is set to miss the RE of 3.9 per cent of GDP, as the deficit till February had already exceeded the target, analysts said.

Despite the government writing to tax evaders and tax offices and banks keeping their doors open to taxpayers during the March 29-31 period to facilitate tax payment, direct tax collections net of refunds at the end of 2012-13 stood at only Rs 5,48,845 crore, against the RE of Rs 5,65,835 crore and the Budget estimate of Rs 5,70,257 crore.

Data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes today showed corporation tax collections in 2012-13 stood at Rs 3,51,724 crore, compared with the RE of Rs 3,58,874 crore and the BE of Rs 3,73,227 crore.

Income tax collections fell short of the RE by about Rs 15,000 crore — collections stood at Rs 1,91,323 crore, against the RE of Rs 2,06,095 crore and the BE of Rs 1,95,786 crore. Other taxes contributed Rs 5,798 crore to the direct tax collection kitty.


In 2012-13, refunds stood at Rs 82,704 crore, against Rs 95,000 crore issued in 2011-12. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, refunds stood at Rs 57,000 crore and Rs 73,000 crore, respectively.

In the Budget, the government had projected the Centre’s fiscal deficit at 5.2 per cent of GDP, keeping in mind the revised revenue and expenditure projections. While the fact that expenditure cannot surpass the RE provides comfort, there is little the ministry can do to meet the RE for revenue collections.

For the first 11 months of 2012-13, the Centre’s fiscal deficit touched 97.4 per cent of the RE. The government’s revenue deficit, however, overshot the RE.

The government’s fiscal deficit for the April-February period stood at Rs 5.07 lakh crore, against Rs 5.21 lakh crore in the RE, figures released by the Controller General of Accounts showed.

In March, the government had sent letters to about 1,05,000 people who had defaulted on income tax returns. The finance minister, along with senior bureaucrats, had repeatedly told taxpayers to declare their real incomes and pay taxes accordingly, or face consequences.

To facilitate accounting for government transactions, the Reserve Bank of India, as well as other banks, kept their offices open on March 29, 30 and 31. One could also pay taxes online or through select automated teller machines.

Data released yesterday —March manufacturing PMI at a 16-month low and contraction in eight core sectors in February (the first since July 2005) — pointed to sluggishness in economic activities, particularly in the industrial sector.

India's economic growth is estimated to fall a decade low of 5% in 2012-13. The third quarter of the financial year saw the growth plummeting to almost four-year low of 4.5%. The fourth quarter numbers are yet to be released.



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