The Centre’s net direct tax collections grew 9.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 19.43 trillion as of February 10, 2025-26 (FY26), mainly on account of moderation in refunds, according to provisional data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The growth is higher than the 9 per cent growth projected in the revised estimates (RE) of FY26.
Gross direct tax collections stood at about Rs 22.78 trillion, up 4.09 per cent from Rs 21.88 trillion in the same period last year. Refunds issued during the period dropped 18.82 per cent to Rs 3.34 trillion, compared with Rs 4.11 trillion a year ago.
According to Rohinton Sidhwa, Partner with Deloitte, both corporate and non-corporate taxes are showing flat growth over the previous year. “While the REs for the year show that the estimate for corporate tax was increased (marginally), the estimate for non-corporate taxes was reduced by 8 per cent. Consequently, it is only the holdback of refunds that supports the higher net tax collection over previous years,” Sidhwa said. It is important to note that there is usually a surge in tax collections in March, which may still help the government meet the RE targets, he added.
Non-corporate tax collections — which include taxes paid by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families, firms, associations of persons, bodies of individuals, local authorities, and artificial juridical persons — rose to nearly Rs 10.03 trillion on a net basis, compared to Rs 9.47 trillion a year earlier. Net corporate tax collections surged to Rs 8.89 trillion from Rs 7.77 trillion.
Collections from securities transaction tax (STT) remained almost the same at Rs 50,279 crore as against Rs 49,201 crore in the corresponding period of FY25. Receipts from other taxes fell sharply to Rs 326.38 crore in FY26 from Rs 3,001.78 crore in FY25.
The Centre has revised its estimate of net direct tax collections for FY26 to Rs 24.21 trillion and has achieved 80.4 per cent of the target as of February 10. In 2024-25, net direct tax collections grew 13.6 per cent to Rs 22.26 trillion, exceeding the BE.
Refunds to corporate and non-corporate taxpayers dipped by nearly 14 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, on a Y-o-Y basis in FY26 up to February 10.
