Tax collections soar 34% to record Rs 27.07 lakh cr in FY22; tax-GDP ratio highest in 23 years

India's gross tax collections soared to a record high of Rs 27.07 lakh crore in the fiscal year ended March 31 as mop-up from income, corporate taxes, customs and GST jumped, taking the tax-to-GDP ratio to the highest in 23 years, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Friday.

The tax-to-GDP ratio jumped to 11.7 per cent -- the highest since 1999. In 2020-21 fiscal, the ratio stood at 10.3 per cent.

Bajaj said the overall tax buoyancy showed a "healthy, robust figure". The tax buoyancy came in at about 2, which means the increase in tax collection was around twice as fast as nominal GDP growth rate.

"A lot of technology is being used where GST figures are now being matched with income tax figures and compliances are being ensured. So all these have resulted in better compliance and better revenues both in direct and indirect taxes," he told reporters here.

Gross tax collection of Rs 27.07 lakh crore from April 2021 to March 2022 has exceeded the budget estimate of Rs 22.17 lakh crore by Rs 5 lakh crore, he added.

The gross tax mop-up showed a 34 per cent increase over last year's (2020-21) collection of Rs 20.27 lakh crore.

Direct taxes, which comprise income tax paid by individuals and corporate tax, came in at Rs 14.10 lakh crore, a growth of 49 per cent over the last fiscal, which Bajaj said was perhaps the highest growth rate in a "long time".

Corporate taxes grew 56.1 per cent to Rs 8.58 lakh crore, while personal income tax collection jumped 43 per cent to about Rs 7.49 lakh crore.

During the year, Rs 2.24 lakh crore worth of income tax refunds were issued to 2.43 crore entities.

In indirect taxes, while customs collection zoomed 48 per cent to over Rs 1.99 lakh crore, CGST and cess mop-up soared 30 per cent at Rs 6.95 lakh crore. Excise mop up, however, dipped 0.2 per cent to Rs 3.90 lakh crore during the 2021-22 fiscal.

Overall, indirect taxes grew 20 per cent to Rs 12.90 lakh crore.

"The direct taxes are more than indirect taxes (in 2021-22) and I hope this trend will continue in the coming years," Bajaj added.

To a question on the Russia-Ukraine war, he said "the effect on the economy is worrisome but would depend on a number of factors like commodity prices and its effect on the supply chain".