Tepid growth in tax mop-up; SBI, LIC, TCS lead the pack

The initial numbers for the last installment of advance tax payment on Thursday by top corporates based in the financial capital present a tepid growth in the levy mop-up, with banking and financial institutions leading the pack.

The initial list of the payout is dominated by the banking and financial institutions, such as State Bank of India, which paid Rs 1,650 crore (Rs 16.5 billion) this year against Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) last year, followed by insurance giant LIC, which paid a just Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) more over the previous year at Rs 971 crore (Rs 9.71 billion).

Among the leading corporates, TCS saw its tax liability rise nearly three-times to Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) from Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), but the largest auto company Tata Motors reported a flat payout at a paltry Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million).

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Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto paid Rs 290 crore (Rs 2.9 billion) against Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion), cement majors Ultratech paid Rs 170 crore (Rs 1.7 billion) against Rs 120 crore (Rs 1.2 billion), while Ambuja paid Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) against Rs 170 crore (Rs 1.7 billion).

Paints leader Asian Paints' outgo stood at Rs 110 over Rs 90 crore (Rs 900 million), while the consumer goods leader HUL saw its levy payout touch Rs 175 crore (Rs 1.75 billion), up from Rs 140 crore (Rs 1.4 billion).

From the banking and financial services bunch, the HDFC group led by mortgage lender HDFC paid Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) against Rs 340 crore (Rs 3.4 billion), while its banking subsidiary paid Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) against Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) last year.

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Another private sector lender Yes Bank paid 10 per cent more at Rs 110 crore (Rs 1.1 billion).

Leading state-run lenders like Bank of Baroda and Central Bank of India saw flat tax outgo at Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion), and Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) respectively, while Bank of India saw its levy rise to Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) from Rs 320 crore (Rs 3.2 billion).

However, mid-sized Dena Bank saw its tax liability grow nearly three times to Rs 120 crore (Rs 1.2 billion) from Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million).

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Similarly, leading foreign lenders saw their tax burden go up. For the largest lender in this segment Standard Chartered, it more than doubled to Rs 420 crore (Rs 4.2 billion) from Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), while German lender Deutsche Bank paid Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) against Rs 170 crore (Rs 1.7 billion).

American lender Citi saw its tax outgo rise by over 10 per cent to Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) from Rs 450 crore (Rs 4.5 billion).

However, the second largest lender HSBC had a flat tax outgo at Rs 450 crore (Rs 4.5 billion).