India Records Sluggish Growth In Tax Collections In Q1 FY20, Lowest In A Decade At 1.36 Per Cent

Despite ambitious tax collection targets set by the government, gross tax collection in the first quarter of FY20 has registered a growth of just 1.36 per cent, making it the lowest rate of growth in a decade since 2009-10, Bloomberg Quint has reported.

The growth in the corresponding periods in 2018-19 and 2017-18 stood at 22.4 per cent and 15.16 per cent respectively. The gross tax revenue collected stood at Rs 4,00,421 crore in the first quarter, as per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Wednesday (31 July).

While a bigger proportion of the tax collection takes place in the final months of the financial year, this does not bode well for government which is expecting a 18 per cent overall increase in tax collection in 2019-20. The government had expected a similar 18.4 per cent rise in collection last year, but the final tax collection showed a growth of just 8.4 per cent.

The government expects total receipts of Rs 24.6 lakh crore in taxes this year. The tax collection for the previous financial year stood at Rs 20.8 lakh crore, missing the Rs 22.7 crore mark as per government estimates.