« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Mock Test Papers Series - I & II for Students appearing in CA Foundation January 2027 Examination.  Income Tax Rules 2026: CBDT Introduces Revised Form 161 for Penalty Waiver, Clarifies Misreporting Categories and Taxpayer Relief  ITR Filing and Income Tax Audit Deadline Extended: 5 Critical Things Taxpayers Must Know  Filing Belated ITR for AY 2026-27? Know Which Losses You Can Carry Forward and Which You May Lose  CBDT Extends Tax Audit Report Deadline to October 21, ITR Filing Last Date to November 21 for AY 2026-27  CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 ITR Filing Deadline for Tax-Audit Cases: New Dates and Key Compliance Details  Foreign Assets Missing From Your ITR? Income Tax Department Opens One-Time Disclosure Window  Tax Audit Deadline September 30: Why AIS, TDS and GST Figures May Not Match Your ITR and What Taxpayers Should Do  Tax audit deadline September 30: Common mistakes taxpayers should avoid  Your ITR says ‘verified’, but the refund hasn’t arrived? 5 reasons why your money could be stuck  Missed the ITR Deadline but TDS Refund Is Due? Here’s How You Can Still Claim Your Money «  Govt offers bonus, tax relief on PO savings... Revamped tax administration has upped collection: FM... » Tax collections record unprecedented growth: Chidambaram December, 08th 2007 Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today said that several new legislative and administrative measures taken by the government have resulted in fiscal stability, improved tax revenues and tightened expenditure. Addressing the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Finance Ministry, Chidambaram said that the tax buoyancy is the result of good performance of Indian economy and the new initiatives taken by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). On the Direct Taxes, Chidambaram said that the TDS administration, refund bankers, tax return prepares scheme, large tax payers unit, e-filing of taxes and business process reengineering are some of the important initiatives which have brought an unprecedented growth of tax collections. He said that attitude of people to pay taxes has now been changing. The personal income tax grew by 42.5 percent and corporation tax by 46.6 percent during April-November 2007 over the corresponding period of last fiscal. The overall direct tax collection growth rate is 44.9 percent during this period, he added. Chidambaram said that the number of taxpayers in the country has been increasing. While the number of assesses increased from 301.78 lakhs in 2003-04 to 319.26 lakhs in 2006-07, the number of assesses filing return of income increased from 234.25 lakhs to 275.44 lakhs during this period. The number of PANs as on October 31, 2007 is 5,74,74,806 and around 8-9 lakhs PANs are being allotted every year. PANs de-duplication has been completed in respect of more than 95 percent cases, he said. Chidambaram said that pilot project of the State Bank of India acting as a Refund Banker has been extended to select charges of four more cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore -- apart from the existing cities at Delhi and Patna. On indirect taxes, Chidambaram said that customs duty rates are being decreased continuously, while the excise duty rates have decreased.