Direct tax collection surpasses forecasts for FY24, rising 18% to Rs 19.58 lakh crore

The tax department said on Sunday that India’s net direct tax receipts increased dramatically by 17.7% year over year to Rs 19.58 lakh crore in the fiscal year that ended in March 2024, much above even revised projections.

In the 2023–24 fiscal year, net collections of income and corporation taxes—which account for the majority of direct taxes—surpassed both the revised and budgetary expectations by a combined total of Rs 13,000 crore and Rs 1.35 lakh crore, or 7.40 percent.

In the interim Budget released on February 1, the government increased the goal for direct tax collection in FY24 (April 2023 to March 2024) to Rs 19.45 lakh crore.

As a result, the revised estimate’s gross tax collection goal for FY24 was set at Rs 34.37 lakh crore.

The FY 2023–24 preliminary gross direct tax revenues increased by 18.48% to Rs 23.37 lakh crore, while the net proceeds (after refunds) increased by 17.7% to Rs 19.58 lakh crore, indicating the health of the economy and rising individual and corporate income levels.

In FY 2023–2024, refunds of Rs 3.79 lakh crore were given out, according to a statement from the CBDT.

“The preliminary direct tax collection figures for the fiscal year 2023–24 indicate that net collections are at Rs 19.58 lakh crore, as opposed to Rs 16.64 lakh crore in the previous fiscal year, i.e. FY 2022–23,” the statement stated. It further stated that the collections for the year were originally estimated at Rs 18.23 lakh crore in the budget for the fiscal year 2023–24, but were later revised to Rs 19.45 lakh crore.

The statement said, “The provisional direct tax collections (net of refunds) have exceeded the revised estimates by 0.67 percent and the Budget estimate by 7.40 percent.”