The gross direct tax collection jumped 20.28 per cent during the April-October period to Rs 2,84,081 crore, mainly on account of increase in corporate tax mop-up. The figure was Rs 2,36,176 crore in the same period in the previous fiscal.

The gross tax collection in the first seven months of the fiscal is only about 48.5 per cent of the Rs 5.85 lakh crore target for the entire fiscal. There are apprehensions that the revenue collection could be impacted due to slowdown in economic activities, but the government has repeatedly maintained that all revenue targets would be achieved.

The net direct tax collections for the April-October period registered a growth of only 7.1 per cent at Rs 2,18,850 crore, year-on-year, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. The gross tax figures include the refunds. The gross corporate tax collection was up 20.35 per cent at Rs 1,89,872 crore in April-October against Rs 1,57,767 crore in the same period last year.

The gross personal income tax collection was up by 20.17 per cent at Rs 93,769 crore. The growth in the wealth tax, the statement added, was higher by 10.6 per cent at Rs 418 crore against Rs 378 crore in the same period last fiscal.

There was decline of 17.9 per cent in securities transaction tax (STT). STT during the period was only Rs 2,958 crore against against Rs 3,602 crore in the same period last year. Decline in STT indicates a fall in trading volumes in stock exchanges.