Banks, corporates pay higher advance tax

 Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries as well as Ratan Tata-led Tata Steel have both paid more advance tax this quarter at Rs 1,054-crore and Rs 987-crore, respectively.

In Q4 last fiscal (FY 10), Reliance Industries and Tata Steel had both paid Rs 770-crore and Rs 513-crore, respectively. Bajaj Auto has paid Rs 250-crore in Q4 FY 11 as against Rs 175-crore in the year-ago period while M&M has shelled out Rs 307-crore as against Rs 226-crore in the year-ago period.

Hindalco has paid Rs 160-crore in Q4 FY 11 as against Rs 110-crore in the year-ago period while MRPL paid Rs 296-crore as against Rs 180-crore in Q4 last fiscal. L&T, has also paid more advance tax in Q4 FY 11 at Rs 300-crore as against Rs 270-crore in the year-ago period.

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Tata Motors have, however, paid less. While HUL paid Rs 150-crore this time as against Rs 170-crore in the year-ago period, Tata Motors has paid meagre Rs 50-crore as advance tax in Q4 FY 11 as against Rs 115-crore in the same period last fiscal.

Leading multinational banking majors have paid more advance tax in Q4 FY 11 indicating a good financial performance against a mixed bag from Indian banks, especially public sector ones. Citibank and Deutsche Bank have both paid a significantly higher advance tax in Q4 FY 11 at Rs 400-crore and Rs 170-crore, respectively. They had paid Rs Rs 150-crore and Rs 60-crore, respectively, in Q4 FY 10. While Standard Chartered Bank’s tax payment remained unchanged at Rs 200-crore, another foreign banking powerhouse, HSBC, has paid more advance tax at Rs 449-crore in Q4 FY 11 as against Rs 190-crore in the year-ago period.

Amongst Indian public sector banks, Union Bank and Central Bank have paid less advance tax at Rs 70-crore and Rs 110-crore, respectively, in Q4 FY 11.