Gross direct tax collection crosses 1L crore

Ahmedabad: The financial year (FY) 2023-24 ended on March 31 with a milestone for Gujarat’s income tax department, as gross direct tax collection surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore.
After refunds of Rs 17,500 crore, the net collection stood at Rs 92,100 crore, marking one of the highest tax collections for the state. This represents an 11% increase compared to the previous fiscal year’s collection of Rs 82,900 crore.
An analysis of the numbers reveals significant growth in income tax collection from individuals, rising from Rs 41,600 crore to Rs 49,100 crore, an 18% increase in one year.In contrast, corporate tax increased by 5%, from Rs 41,200 crore to Rs 43,000 crore. Gujarat maintains its position among the top five states in tax collection, alongside Maharashtra, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu. In the previous fiscal year, 2022-23, these states collectively accounted for about 70% of India’s total direct tax collection.
Senior I-T officials said that the fiscal year also saw a significant rise in advance taxes paid by corporate taxpayers, amounting to Rs 30,900 crore, and a substantial overall refund of Rs 17,500 crore. Of this, Rs 11,700 crore was refunded to individuals and Rs 5,700 crore to corporate taxpayers.
Experts in the direct tax sector attribute the surge in tax collection to a growing number of taxpayers and an increase in taxpayers falling into higher tax brackets. The thriving business and entrepreneurial environment in the state have contributed to the high taxpayer base and improved tax compliance, they said, adding that over the past two years, tax collection has seen a notable increase of 33% for individual taxpayers and 31% for corporate taxpayers in Gujarat. In 2018-19, the total collection was Rs 49,000 crore. Thus, the number has almost doubled in five years for the state. The data also indicates that tax deducted at source (TDS) for corporate and individual taxpayers amounted to Rs 12,700 crore and Rs 30,300 crore respectively. The I-T department conducted several major searches throughout the year to uncover instances of tax evasion.