Buoyed by robust growth in corporate tax collections in the third quarter, the revenue department today convened a meeting to discuss strategies for internally resetting the direct tax revenue collection target at Rs four lakh crore.

The meeting of all cadre Controlling Chief Commissioners of Income Tax held by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) deliberated upon ways to achieve the budgetary target of Rs 3.7 lakh crore and gradually work towards resetting it at Rs 4 lakh crore.

The board has decided to monitor advance tax payments of top companies and “persuade them not to defer such payment as self-assessment tax for the next fiscal”. This would help in boosting the revenue collections.

Further, the board also plans to monitor tax payments of loss-making companies, liable to MAT at an enhanced rate of 15 per cent, and persuade them to make such payment as advance tax during the current fiscal. The tax deducted at source by private deductors as state governments and local bodies would also supervised, an official statement said.

The tax demand raised in demand scrutiny assessment during the current fiscal would also help in meeting the revenue target, the statement said.

Earlier, in January, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had asked the department to make all-out efforts for achieving the revised direct tax target of Rs 4 lakh so as to make good the shortfall in indirect tax collections. The department has already collected Rs 2,50,232 crore by the end of December of the total Budget estimate of Rs 3.7 lakh crore.