Did Mumbai Pay Rs 5 Trillion In Taxes?

Mumbai, which adds 37 per cent to the total direct tax mop-up, has reported tax collection of Rs 4.93 trillion so far, against the full-year target of Rs 5.35 trillion.

While conducting a pan-India review of tax collections, authorities at the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) asked officials in some regions like Mumbai, Pune, and West Bengal to step up efforts to maximise revenue before the financial year 2022-2023 closed.

The net tax growth rate in some of these regions was below expectations, said two people privy to the development.

Mumbai, which adds 37 per cent to the total direct tax mop-up, has reported tax collection of Rs 4.93 trillion so far, against the full-year target of Rs 5.35 trillion.

This is mainly because of lower tax deducted at source (TDS) collections on foreign transactions.

Pune, on the other hand, reported collection of Rs 91,506 crore (Rs 915.06 billion) against the target of Rs 1.03 trillion, as the region's advance tax collections were not up to the mark, the sources said.

"Some of the top Pune-based firms, including a pharma company, paid lower than expected advance tax during the year, which has led to a shortfall in the region," one of the persons said.

Bengaluru and Delhi regions, however, exceeded the expected growth rate, CBDT said.

Delhi, for instance, collected Rs 2.08 trillion, which is 104 per cent of its target.

Tax collections have touched 95.2 per cent of the revised target of Rs 16.5 trillion and are 10 per cent above the Budget Estimate of Rs 14.2 trillion.

According to the latest figures, the department has collected Rs 15.72 trillion, but it is unclear if it will be able to meet the Revised Estimates.

In FY23, revenue from direct tax (which includes income and corporate taxes) are projected to grow by over 17 per cent to Rs 16.50 trillion compared with Rs 14.20 trillion in FY22.

In a separate move, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex body for indirect taxes, asked its zonal chiefs to maximise revenue by expediting Customs clearances and nudging non-filers to file Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns.

In the Budget, the Customs collection target was reduced to Rs 2.10 trillion from Rs 2.13 trillion estimated earlier for FY23.

There are indications that Customs may fall short of this revised target too.

GST collections are projected to grow by 12 per cent in the next fiscal to Rs 9.56 trillion.

In the current fiscal, the Revised Estimates peg GST collection at Rs 8.54 trillion.