Direct Tax Collection Hits Target for 2024-25 Fiscal

India’s net direct tax collection for the financial year 2024-25 has exceeded expectations, with provisional figures showing a 13.57% increase, reaching ₹22.26 lakh crore. According to official data released on Friday, it’s a significant achievement for the Income Tax Department. In addition, it also issued a record-breaking ₹4.76 lakh crore in refunds during the same period.

The original budget estimate of the government is July 2024 pegged direct tax revenues at ₹22.07 lakh crore that later revised to ₹22.37 lakh crore in the February 2025 Union Budget. The latest figures represent 100.78% of their original estimate and 99.51% of the revised target.

Direct taxes consist of collections from corporate tax, securities transaction tax (STT), and not-corporate tax, which includes individual income tax, taxes paid by Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), local bodies, firms, and artificial juridical persons.

The gross direct collection for FY 2024-25 stood at ₹27.02 lakh crore, reflecting a 15.59% growth from ₹23.37 lakh crore collected in FY 2023-24. After adjusting for refunds, the net collection remains ₹22.26 lakh crore, which is up from ₹19.60 lakh crore the previous year.

The highlighted thing was the steep increase in STT collections as it rose to ₹53,296 crore from ₹34,192 crore in FY 2023-24, showing a surge in capital market activity.

Officials attributed this strong performance to the department’s continued focus on transparency and taxpayer trust. An official said, “We have consistently honoured legitimate refund claims, which is reflected in the record ₹4.76 lakh crore disbursed this year- a 26.04% rise from ₹3.78 lakh crore in the previous year.”

Net Corporate tax collections were ₹9,86,719 crore, up 8.30% from last year.

Gross corporate tax collections stood at ₹12,72,516 crore, marking a 12.41% rise.

Net non-corporate tax collections amounted to ₹11,82,875 crore, registering a robust 17% growth over FY 2023-24.

The tax buoyancy, which indicates the responsiveness of tax revenue to GDP growth, was measured at 1.57 for FY 2024-25, a slight improvement from 1.54 the previous year.

Officials emphasized that the figures are provisional, with final adjustments and reconciliation still ongoing. However, the current data shows strong economic momentum and improved tax compliance, setting a positive sentiment for the upcoming fiscal year.