The Hindu Business Line : Corporate tax collections up 45%

CORPORATION tax collections in the first five months of the current year have amounted to Rs 3,911 crore, which is 45 per cent higher than the Rs 2,688 crore achieved in the same period last year.

Disclosing these figures at a press conference here today, the Union Minister of State for Finance, Mr Gingee Ramachandran, said that this showed that the "industry is picking up".

Overall direct tax revenues have increased by 18 per cent, to Rs 14,385 crore, from Rs 12,149 crore in the first five months of last year. "In total, there has been an increase in the net direct tax collections by Rs 2,236 crore, in spite of heavy refunds," the Minister said.

On the indirect taxes front, collections increased 15.19 per cent. In April-August this year, indirect tax collections were Rs 42,171 crore, as against Rs 36,609 crore in the same period last year.

Individual income-tax collections (part of the direct taxes) have increased by 11 per cent — from Rs 9,468 crore in the first five months of last year, to Rs 10,474 crore in the same months of the current year.

Mr Ramachandran said that there was an addition of 57 lakh new assessees last year, thanks to the "1/6 scheme". Further, in the current year up to June, 30 lakh new assessees have been added. Today, only three per cent of the population are tax assessees. "We are aiming to take this number to five per cent by 2003-04," he said.

The cost of collections declined to 1.27 per cent (of total collections) in 2000-01, from 1.75 per cent in 1998-99 "in spite of increase in tax base". A "massive computerisation programme" is underway, involving an outlay of Rs 252 crore. This is expected to further improve the efficiency of tax collection.

Warning that the Government would be stern with tax evaders, the Minister said that in the current year up to August, 1,917 premises were searched resulting in seizure of Rs 253.14 crore worth of assets, as against 587 searches last year, which unearthed Rs 29.52 crore worth of assets. Cash seizures alone were Rs 67.98 crore, as against Rs 8.86 crore last year.

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