As many as 13 people in the state - including industrialists, builders, jewellers and cricketers - have paid Rs 1 crore or more each, as advance tax this year. Navnit Mulchand Shah, who owns a 100% export-oriented pharmaceutical unit in Ahmedabad, has emerged as the top tax payer with Rs 10.5 crore advance tax, followed by Rajkot-based jeweler, Ashokumar Zinzuwadia who has paid advance tax worth Rs 5.5 crore.

Cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan are also among the top tax payers with taxes worth Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively. Among corporate houses, Axis Bank, GMDC, Adani SEZ, Torrent Pharma and Gujarat Gas were the highest tax payers for the same period.

This year, the income tax (I-T) department fell short of the advance tax collection target by Rs 4,200 crore. According to figures, the I-T department collected Rs 27,400 crore against the target of Rs 31,900 crore. Last year against the target of Rs 26,000 crore, the department had reported a collection of Rs 25,800 crore.

The top taxpayers' list comprises people from all types of areas - from pharmaceuticals to sports. Manoj Mansukhani who runs a shipping company in Kandla, and Udaykumar Chhabildas Patel of a city-based manufacturing Industry, paid advance tax worth Rs 4.2 crore each.

"Every year, the advance tax target is increased by 30% and with slowdown affecting industries, collections have fallen," said an I-T official. For 80% of the taxes, the I-T department is dependent on major corporate houses as well as on public sector companies.

Ahmedabad-based Nitin R Shah, who runs a pharmaceutical company, rounded off the top five payers with tax worth Rs 4 crore followed by Vadodara-based Seema Ajay Ranka, the proprietor of a manufacturing industry, who paid tax worth Rs 2.8 crore.

"Power and infrastructure sectors were the most affected by the economic slowdown which resulted in lower tax collections," said the I-T official.