Direct tax target scaled down: CBDT

New Delhi, February 2

The direct tax collection target has been lowered to Rs 11.80 lakh crore in the Union Budget after making a “realistic assessment” of various economic factors, a top government official said.

The set target for revenue collection (personal income tax, corporate tax and others) was Rs 13.35 lakh crore for the 2019-20 financial year.

“Those (earlier) estimates have been revised in the Budget and our new target would be about Rs 11.80 lakh crore, which I am pretty confident of achieving,” said CBDT Chairman PC Mody.

Asked about the reasons for the recalibration of the target, Mody said, “It was just a realistic assessment of what is achievable and also it has to be taken into account that we have had a lot of revenue forgone.”

The revenue forgone is essentially on two counts—huge refunds issued and cut in corporate tax. “We are very very hopeful (of achieving the revised target) because past experience shows that the last quarter (January-March) is the period when the maximum revenue comes in… I am pretty confident of achieving the new target,” he said. — PTI