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Direct tax mop-up short by Rs 50,000 crore

he revision was made during the interim Budget for 2019-20 in February this year.

New Delhi: The government is likely to miss the direct tax collection target for 2019-19 owing to lower-than-expected goods and service tax (GST) realisation. The direct tax collection target had been revised upwards to Rs 12 lakh crore from the original budget estimate of Rs 11.5 lakh crore for 2018-19.

“The government may witness a shortfall of Rs 50,000 crore in the direct tax collection target of Rs 12 lakh crore for 2018-19, though it was expecting higher collections from corporate taxes,” finance ministry sources said on Tuesday.

“The shortfall in direct tax mop-up coupled with lower GST realisation may have implications on fiscal deficit, which the government has pegged at 3.4 per cent of the GDP,” a source said, adding that direct tax collection for 2018-19 is around Rs 11.5 lakh crore.

The revision was made during the interim Budget for 2019-20 in February this year.

The target for GST collection was revised downwards to Rs 6.44 lakh crore from the budget estimate of Rs 7.44 lakh crore. The GST mop-up is also estimated to have missed the revised target.

However, an agency report quoting sources said the government has managed to meet the revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent of the GDP after it cut last minute expenditure and rolled over fuel subsidies to make up for the shortfall in tax collection.

The interim Budget had revised upward the fiscal deficit target to 3.4 per cent from 3.3 per cent of GDP estimated earlier for 2018-19.

There has also been some increase in non-tax revenue collection, especially on account of disinvestment proceeds.

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