New Delhi, January 17: The government has collected a total of Rs. 6.89 lakh crore direct tax during the first nine-and-a-half months i.e. up to January 15, 2018. The Direct Tax Collections have seen a surge of 18.7 per cent, the tax department said on Wednesday. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a statement said that the collections till January 15, 2018 represent over 70 per cent of the Rs 9.8 lakh crore revenue target from direct taxes.

“The provisional figures of direct tax collections up to January 15, 2018, show that net collections are at Rs. 6.89 lakh crore which is 18.7 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period last year,”  the CBDT said.

Meanwhile, the gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 13.5% to Rs. 8.11 lakh crore during April, 2017 to January 15, 2018. Refunds amounting to Rs.1.22 lakh crore have been issued during April, 2017 to January 15, 2018.

The CBDT emphasized that there has been a consistent and significant improvement in the position of Direct Tax collections during the current fiscal across all parameters. IT further added saying that the growth rate of Total Gross DT Collections has improved from 10.0% in Q1, to 10.3% in Q2, to 12.6% in Q3 and to 13.5% as on January 15, 2018. Similarly, the growth rate of Total Net DT Collections has climbed up from 14.8% in Q1, to 15.8% in Q2, to 18.2% in Q3 and to 18.7% as on January 15, 2018.

The growth has been particularly good in the collections under Corporate Income Tax (CIT). Gross CIT Collections, which were growing at the rate of 4.8% in Q1, attained a growth rate of 5.1% in Q2, 10.1% in Q3 and 11.4% as on January 15, 2018. Similarly, the growth rate of Net CIT Collections increased from 10.8% in Q2, to 17.4% in Q3 and to 18.2% as on January 15, 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 17, 2018 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).