Advance tax collections rise 20%; Rs 3.54 lakh crore in kitty till September 15

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

tax collections in the first half of 2023-24 have increased 20% year on year to ₹3.54 lakh crore, people privy to the development said.
Collections could go up further in the final tally as the numbers reflected calculations till 11.30 pm on September 15 — the last day for paying advance tax for the second quarter.
«Tax collection is expected to increase when further information is received from banks on Monday,» an official said.

The government will likely release the official data next week.

Robust advance tax collections are an indicator of healthy corporate performance and an underlying strong economy.
«Healthy advance tax numbers suggest that the economic growth momentum has continued in the second quarter, as suggested by various high frequency indicators,» said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating agency ICRA.

«It is likely that the cumulative tax revenues will display a healthier trend at end September 2023, helping soften the rise in the fiscal deficit relative to the year-ago period,» she added.

Of the total advance tax collected in the first two quarters of the fiscal, corporate tax accounted for ₹2.80 lakh crore and personal income tax for ₹74,481 crore, people cited above said.
Advance tax collections for the first half of 2022-23 were ₹2.95 lakh crore. Advance tax collections for the first quarter of this fiscal stood at ₹1.16 lakh crore.

Gross tax collections till September 15 this fiscal stood at ₹9.85 lakh crore.