Buoyed by robust performance of the economy during the first half of the current fiscal, the government is expecting to exceed the direct tax collection target of Rs 4.3 lakh crore for 2010-11.
The tax mop-up for the year is expected to be around Rs 4.5 lakh crore, around Rs 20,000 crore more than the Budget Estimate of Rs 4.3 lakh crore, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sudhir Chandra said today.
We are hoping to exceed the budgeted target for net direct tax collections this fiscal, he said.
The direct tax kitty, comprising personal income tax, corporate tax and wealth tax, has already swelled by 19.47 per cent to Rs 2.99 lakh crore during the April-December period of this fiscal, thus making up for 69.53 per cent of the budgetary target.
Tax mop-up has also been good on the back of rising Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), an official said.
Enthused by a strong economic growth, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had raised the direct tax collection target by Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 4.5 lakh crore for the current fiscal.
Presonal income tax collection, including Securities Transaction Tax, residual Fringe Benefit Tax and Banking Cash Transaction Tax, during the first nine months of the fiscal grew at 14.57 per cent to Rs 92,295 crore while corporate tax recorded a 22.07 per cent growth at Rs 2.03 lakh crore.
Chandra also said that the government is actively considering a re-structuring proposal of the Income Tax department to enhance the work output as it is reeling under an acute crunch of almost 8,000 personnel presently.
The cadre re-structuring of the Income Tax department is under active consideration and is at an advanced stage in front of the government, Chandra said. The I-T department, which has a sanctioned manpower of 58,000 personnel, has currently 8,000 unoccupied ranks.
It has also projected a requirement of 22,000 personnel in view of its role for increasing tax collection and curbing evasions.
Chandra said he has also expedited the process of holding promotion-related meetings of tax officials to boost the morale of his workforce to be so high that revenue collection should not come down.
The department has huge vacancies in the ranks of chief commissioners, commissioners, additional and joint commissioners and even in the operational ranks of income tax officers and income tax inspectors.
The department has recently been ordered by the CBDT to immediately transfer officials at additional and joint commissioners rank-level from other directorates for revenue collection duties.
The additional and joint commissioners of the I-T department ensure and regulate tax collection and other functions of the Department like issuing refunds and carrying out investigations against tax evaders.
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