Indias direct tax collection surged 47 per cent to Rs 71,648 crore during the first four months of the current fiscal year despite a not-too-impressive first quarter corporate sector performance.

The government attributed the high growth in tax collections primarily to improves compliance and better enforcement.

Robust growth in direct tax collections is a result of tax education and compliance mechanism put in place by the income tax department in the area of tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collection at source (TCS) and indicates further improvement in tax administration and tax compliance levels, said a finance ministry statement.

Growth in corporate TDS/TCS was particularly high at 60.6 per cent.

Last month, the government revised the budget estimates of direct taxes by about Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 3,95,000 crore for 2008-09.

Indias indirect tax receipts grew 11.5 per cent during the April-June period from a year earlier to Rs 54,341 crore, but a rather flat growth in central excise duty collections could be a concern, reflecting drop in industrial growth.

Excise collections were up 2.8 per cent at Rs 25,882, while customs duty receipts rose 20.9 per cent to Rs 28,459 crore.