Govt meets tax collection target Rs 34.37 lakh cr

New Delhi: The government has broadly met the tax collection target of over Rs 34.37 lakh crore for 2023-24 on the back of robust economic activity and improved compliance, an official said.

“Overall targets for tax revenue have been met,” the official told. The government had raised the target for direct tax collection in FY24 (April 2023 to March 2024) to Rs 19.45 lakh crore, while for indirect taxes (GST+ Customs + Excise) the target was lowered to Rs 14.84 lakh crore in the revised estimates (RE) presented in Parliament on February 1, 2024. The net direct tax collections (comprising corporate tax and personal income tax) reached over Rs 18.90 lakh crore as of March 17.

GST remained a high point during the last fiscal with collections reaching a record high of Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023 and the second highest collection coming in at Rs 1.78 lakh crore in March 2024. The gross tax collection target as per the revised estimate stood at Rs 34.37 lakh crore for FY24. Tax collection is a reflection of economic activity. India is recording world-beating growth rate and is projected to grow at 7.6 per cent in 2023-24, as per NSO estimates.

Domestic consumption and government capex are the main drivers of the country’s economic momentum. India grew above 8 per cent for three consecutive quarters (April-December) and various agencies have revised the growth estimates of India for FY24 closer to 8 per cent. SBI Research and Moody’s expect GDP growth for FY24 to be 8 per cent. Fitch and Barclays raised their growth forecast to 7.8 per cent.