Direct tax collection rises by 41% to Rs 3.54 lakh cr in Q1

Net direct tax collection in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal rose by 41 per cent to Rs 3,54,569.74 crore, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha.

During the April-June period of 2021-22, the government had collected a net direct tax of Rs 2,50,881.08 crore.

At the same time, net indirect tax collection including Goods and Services Tax (GST) and custom duty increased by 9.4 per cent to Rs 3,44,056 crore as against Rs 3,14,476 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal, he said in a written reply.

"Various factors like rapid economic recovery post-Covid, better compliances due to various measures taken by the government have contributed to this increase," he said.

He also informed that no tax exemption has been granted to food items during the current financial year.

Chaudhary said several steps have been taken by GST Council to improve compliance including auto population of distance based on the PIN Code in the e-waybill and automatic calculation of interest in the GSTR 3B for the delay in payment of GST liability.

In another question, he said, cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India as of now.

Cryptocurrencies and Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage, he said.

"Therefore any legislation for regulation or for banning can be effective only after significant international collaboration on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards," he said.

Replying to another question, he said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance services is levied at the standard rate, i.e., 18 per cent at present.

However, certain insurance schemes catering to poor sections of the society and differently-abled, such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Universal Health Insurance Scheme, Jan Argoya Bima Policy and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are exempt from GST.

Health insurance service was standard rated even in pre-GST regime and the standard rate has been continued in GST.