Tax collection to exceed budget estimate by nearly Rs 4 lakh crore: Revenue Secretary

New Delhi: India's tax collection will exceed the budget estimate by nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in the current fiscal on the back of buoyant income tax, customs duty and GST mop-up, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Wednesday. In an interview, Bajaj said that the growth in tax revenues will continue to be higher than the GDP growth, helped by the formalisation of the economy and better compliance. For this financial year ending March 2023, the tax collection target set in the Union Budget is around Rs 27.50 lakh crore.

Bajaj said the direct tax collection comprising personal and corporate taxes would be close to Rs 17.50 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Mop up from indirect taxes (customs, excise and GST) would be close to Rs 14 lakh crore. The total tax collection is expected to be about Rs 31.50 lakh crore in 2022-23, he said. The budget had pegged direct and indirect tax mop up at Rs 14.20 lakh crore and Rs 13.30 lakh crore for current fiscal, taking the total figure to Rs 27.50 lakh crore.

Formalisation of economy & technology has helped in improving compliance: Bajaj

"We are using a lot of data. We have data from income tax and GST departments, and MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs). We are also getting data regarding high value expenditure. Formalisation of economy and technology has helped improved compliance," Bajaj said.

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Last fiscal, the direct tax collection grew nearly 50 percent to Rs 14.10 lakh crore
compared to 2020-21. "The trend of higher tax collection than GDP growth will continue," Bajaj said. He also said that even though there was a reduction in customs and excise duties during this fiscal, the government will be very close to the target set in the budget. The budget has set a target of collecting Rs 2.13 lakh crore and Rs 3.35 lakh crore from customs and excise duties respectively.

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