Tax arrears soar to Rs 54L cr

On June 30, the total tax arrears in India, encompassing both direct and indirect taxes, reached a staggering Rs 54.53 lakh crore, the Ministry of Finance informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said direct tax arrears amounted to Rs 47.52 lakh crore, while indirect tax arrears stood at Rs 7.01 lakh crore.

Chaudhary highlighted that a significant portion of these arrears involved high-value cases. For indirect taxes, arrears exceeding Rs 10 crore per case amount to Rs 2.66 lakh crore. Similarly, direct tax arrears above Rs 10 crore per case amount to approximately Rs 35.48 lakh crore.

Litigation remains a major hurdle in recovering these dues, the Parliament was told. Of the Rs 7.01 lakh crore in indirect tax arrears, over Rs 3.71 lakh crore are tied up in various stages of legal disputes.