Nine months into the financial year, the government has managed to raise over 60 per cent of its direct tax target for the year, putting it on course to achieving the budgeted amount. The shortfall in tax collections, which has put the government's fisc under strain, is likely to come largely from the indirect taxes side, which is expected to be Rs 30,000 crore below budget.

The net direct tax collections, after refunds, were up 12.53 per cent to Rs 4.15 lakh crore in April-December 2013-14 over Rs 3.69 lakh crore in the same period. The government has budgeted Rs 6.7 lakh crore from direct taxes in the current financial year.

The government has so far managed to raise over 62 per cent of this amount and should manage the rest also given that direct tax inflows are usually highest in the last quarter.

Gross corporate taxes were up 9.35 per cent to Rs 3,10,126 crore hile personal income tax rose 18.53 per cent to Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April-December 2013-14. The Securities Transaction Tax ( STT) kitty is up 4 per cent to Rs 3,427 crore while wealth tax showed 11.92

per cent rise at Rs 742 crore. Total gross direct tax collection during April-December is up by 12.33 per cent to Rs 4.81 lakh crore.The overall tax collection target for the year is unlikely to be met though, given the slowdown in the indirect tax collections.

At the end of November, the gross tax revenue, before allocation to states, was Rs 5.32 lakh crore, less than half the budgeted Rs 12.36 lakh crore. The excise, Customs and service tax levy added up to Rs 2.82 lakh crore against the budgeted Rs 5.64 lakh crore, 50 per cent of the total.

Because of the poor tax collections, the fiscal deficit at the end of November was 94 per cent of the budgeted amount, creating a serious
challenge to the government's attempts to keep it at budgeted 4.8 per cent of GDP.