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Tax realisation set at Rs 1.990 trillion for current fiscal

A whopping Rs 1.990-trillion tax realisation was fixed for the current financial year, Union Minister of State for Finance V Dhananjaya Kumar said today.

This was Rs 300 billion more than the target of Rs 1.690 trillion set for the last fiscal, however, surpassing it Rs 1.702 trillion tax that included central excise, company and other taxes were recovered during 1999-2000, the minister said while talking to the newspersons in Jaipur.

About the financial health of the country, Kumar said that the fiscal deficit was contained at 5.1 per cent, the industrial growth was more then 12 per cent and the gross domestic product was about seven per cent.

The new provisions for the export-import would decrease the gap between the two, he said, adding that the income tax recovery was also increasing and it would go up further with the introduction of one by six conditions for income tax assessment at 133 new cities in the country.

Tax collections exceed revised estimates in 1999-2000

Tax collections, both direct and indirect, registered a 19.27 per cent growth in the just-ended financial year as compared to the previous year, Minister of State for Finance V Dhananjaya Kumar said on Friday.

The total collections in 1999-2000 were Rs 1702 trillion, against the revised estimates of Rs 1.693 trillion and Rs 1.426 trillion collected in 1998-99.

The actual collection was 104 per cent of the revised estimates, Kumar told reporters.

The ministry has fixed a realistic overall growth rate of 17.37 per cent for the current year and figures for April showed that this could be achieved, he said. About 25 per cent growth is expected in direct taxes -- 30 per cent in corporation and 24.8 per cent in personal income tax.

This would be possible mainly due to better industrial output and industrial growth, currently placed at 12 per cent, and in view of the decision to cover 133 more towns and cities under the one-by-six criteria which would increase the number of assessees.

The estimated tax collection for 2000-01 is Rs 1.996 trillion from four major taxes -- excise, customs, corporate and personal income tax.

Excise is expected to yield Rs 709.67 billion, customs 535.72 billion, services Rs 30.30 billion (indirect taxes totalling Rs 1.276 trillion), corporation tax Rs 400 million, income tax Rs 315.90 billion and other residual taxes Rs 4.75 billion (direct taxes totalling Rs 721.05 billion).

Kumar said the growth in indirect taxes for the current year is expected at 13.36 per cent -- excise 15.6 per cent, customs 10.88 per cent and other taxes 7 per cent.

The corporation tax is anticipated to grow by 30.4 per cent, of income tax by 24.8 per cent.

''This is a healthy trend,'' and belied the apprehensions expressed in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that the growth in direct taxes is minimal, the minister said.

UNI

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