India seems to be shining on the tax front too. The net direct tax collection during the first fortnight of March 2004, which represents the last instalment of advance tax payments, climbed 48 per cent to Rs 6,250.48 crore (Rs 62.504 billion) from Rs 4,219 crore (Rs 42.19 billion) in the corresponding period last fiscal.

According to revenue department officials, the corporate tax mop-up during the first two weeks of March this year stood at Rs 3,613.25 crore (Rs 36.132 billion), which is more than double Rs 1,804.14 crore (Rs 18.041 billion) collected in the same period of March 2003.

The income-tax collection during the period stood at Rs 2,637.23 crore (Rs 26.372 billion), just 9 per cent more than Rs 2,415 crore (Rs 24.15 billion) collected during March 1-15 last year.

In the fourth and last instalment of advance tax, corporates pay 25 per cent of their tax liability for the full fiscal by March 15.

The first three instalments of 15 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent of the tax liability for the fiscal fall due by June 15, September 15 and December 15, respectively.

The net direct tax collection for the current fiscal till March 15 climbed 25.4 per cent to Rs 78,243 crore (Rs 782.43 billion), including Rs 883 crore (Rs 8.83 billion) collected as tax deduction at source till January, from Rs 62,407 crore (Rs 624.07 billion) in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The corporate tax collection during April 1, 2003, to March 15, 2004, jumped over 37 per cent, or Rs 11,979 crore (Rs 119.79 billion), to Rs 44,140 crore (Rs 441.40 billion). The income-tax mop-up also rose almost 13 per cent, or Rs 3,857 crore (Rs 38.57 billion), to Rs 34,103 crore (Rs 341.03 billion) during the period.

The officials said the revenue department was on course to meeting the revised tax collection target for 2003-04.

In the interim Budget, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had revised the direct tax receipts to Rs 103,255 crore (Rs 1,032.55 billion), or 8 per cent more than Rs 95,569 crore (Rs 955.69 billion) budgeted originally.

As per the flash figures available for the period April 1, 2003, to March 15, 2004, 75.8 per cent of the target set for the full fiscal has been achieved.

The officials said the last instalment of advance tax payments would continue to come in for another week. For the first time in history, the direct tax collection would top Rs 100,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion), they said.

While the corporate tax collection till March 15 represents 70.1 per cent of the revised target of Rs 62,986 crore (Rs 629.86 billion) for the full fiscal, the income-tax mop-up has touched almost 85 per cent of its revised target of Rs 40,269 crore (Rs 402.69 billion).