The net direct tax collections rose to a whopping Rs14,812 crore in April this year, a seven fold increase compared to the same period of last fiscal.

Net direct tax collections, gross collections minus refunds, was at Rs1,992 crore in April 2011.

The net collection was higher mainly due to lower refunds given by the revenue department in April 2012. The gross direct tax collection in April fell by over 7% to Rs24,631 crore, official sources said. The collection was Rs27,091 crore in April 2011.

During April 2012, the net personal income tax collection went up by a huge 70% to Rs14,423 crore. The figure was Rs8,472 crore in the corresponding month last fiscal.

The net collection in corporate taxes was Rs383 crore in April 2012. The same was Rs.(-) 6,490 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Besides, collection from wealth tax stood at Rs6 crore, down from Rs10 crore collected in April 2011.

The government has fixed a direct tax collection target of Rs5.70 lakh crore for the current fiscal.

In the 2011-12 fiscal, the government has collected taxes of over Rs4.93 lakh crore as per provisional estimates, against a budgeted target of Rs5.32 trillion.

During the last fiscal, the revenue department provided refunds worth Rs97,158 crore, an increase of 29.25% over 2010-11. (PTI)