Reflecting a boom in industrial and service sectors of Andhra Pradesh, the corporate tax collections for the first six months of the current financial year registered 45 per cent growth, compared with the corresponding period last year.
This was mostly contributed by cement, chemicals, construction, minerals, hotel industry and pharmaceutical sectors.
Personal income tax collections for the same period was up 77 per cent, compared with 17 per cent increase in the corresponding period last year.
Addressing the media, DV Dharmik, chief commissioner of Income Tax, said the department had collected Rs 3,681 crore both corporate and personal income tax up to September 30, 2006, compared with Rs 2,315 crore, registering a total increase of 59 per cent over the collections of the corresponding period last year. These accounted for 43 per cent of the current year's target of Rs 8,479 crore, he said.
Normally tax collections during the first two quarters comprise 30-35 per cent of the total annual target. Only in last two quarters, we see the maximum tax collections. This time it was different, Dharmik said while attributing the growth to healthy industrial scenario as well as increase in personal incomes and better compliance.
Andhra Pradesh, which stands seventh in IT and corporate tax collections, was the only state in the country where the budgetary targets for the year 2005-06 had exceeded, according to him.
This year's target of Rs 4,935 crore corporate tax collections alone was more than the total collections of Rs 4,800 crore achieved during 2004-05, he said.
Personal income tax collection target, fixed at Rs 3,495 crore, is fast catching up with that of corporate tax collection in the state. This year, the overall growth in tax collections is expected to be around 15 per cent, according to taxmen.
The department has received 43,400 more returns during the first six-month period and 3,012 returns received are pertaining to more than Rs 10 lakh income. About 1.59 lakh new assessees have been added to the tax base this year.
Regarding the multiple PAN cards issue, the IT chief commissioner said about 55,000 persons were found with having more than one PAN number and letters have been issued to them to deactivate the extra accounts, he said.
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