The Department of Income Tax (Karnataka and Goa regions) has surpassed the set target of Rs 28,000 crore and has already reached the Rs 32,000 cr mark. It is expected to end this year with Rs 33,000 cr. This could be a record achievement in the country so far. The total revenue collection in the country is expected to be around Rs 3 lakh cr this fiscal.

In 2006-07 the total tax collected by the I-T Department (K&G) in terms of income and corporate taxes was Rs 20,000 crore. “The growth in the sector this year is unprecedented. The Circle ranks third in India after Mumbai and Delhi in direct tax collection but in terms of growth, we could be number one this year. Corporate collections have gone up by 100 per cent,” said an official.

The main reason for buoyancy in tax collection is because of the growth of the economy, large and high network of salaried people, better tax administration and tightened enforcement.  “When the growth is eight per cent, it has to reflect in greater tax revenue. Also, tax compliance has improved over the years,” said the official.

In the Circle the major revenue contributors have been IT, real estate, mining and banking sectors. “Awareness and willingness to pay is also a welcome feature contributing to revenue collection, especially among the younger generation. Reasonable tax rates have also paid dividends,” said DG Income Tax (Investigation) BR Sudhakara.
He said, it has sent right messages to the tax payers that the information with the department is being used for better tax compliance. “Focussed and quality search and survey operations, processing of Annual Information Returns has yielded results. We have taken up issues of AIR filers where PAN is not quoted. These have been taken up for inquiry. Though PAN awareness is higher now,  we still have some cases of AIR where PAN is missing,” said Sudhakara.