The Indian government’s gross direct tax collections for the fiscal year 2024-25 have seen a significant increase, rising by 24% year-on-year to Rs.8.13 lakh crore, according to data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday. This sharp uptick comes in comparison to the Rs.6.55 lakh crore collected during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Net direct tax collections also reflected this positive trend, witnessing a 22.5% rise to Rs.6.92 lakh crore, up from Rs.5.65 lakh crore in the previous year. Additionally, tax refunds surged by 33.5%, totaling Rs.1.2 lakh crore as compared to Rs.90,028 crore during the same period last year.
The direct taxes contributing to these collections include corporate tax, personal income tax, securities transaction tax, equalization levy, and various others such as fringe benefits tax, wealth tax, banking cash transaction tax, hotel receipt tax, interest tax, expenditure tax, estate duty, and gift tax.
In a related development, the surge in Income Tax Return (ITR) filings this year has set a new record. The last date for filing ITRs for the assessment year 2024-25 was July 31, 2024, and over 7.28 crore returns were filed by the deadline. This marks a 7.5% increase compared to the 6.77 crore returns filed for the assessment year 2023-24, as per a statement from the Ministry of Finance.
A notable trend this year has been the increased adoption of the New Tax Regime, with 5.27 crore taxpayers, or approximately 72% of the total filers, opting for it. In contrast, only 28% of taxpayers chose to remain in the Old Tax Regime.
On July 31, 2024, the final day for salaried taxpayers and other non-tax audit cases to file their returns, the filing activity peaked, with over 69.92 lakh ITRs being submitted in a single day. Furthermore, the number of first-time ITR filers reached 58.57 lakh, a clear indication of the widening tax base.
The Ministry of Finance has urged taxpayers to verify their unverified ITRs within 30 days of filing. Those who missed the filing deadline are encouraged to complete their submissions at the earliest.