Net direct tax collections during the first seven months of the present fiscal (upto October 2009) stood at Rs 1,73,447 crore, up from Rs 1,66,905 crore in the same period last fiscal, registering a growth of 3.92 percent, Growth in Corporate Taxes was 4.59 percent (Rs 1,09,996 crore as against Rs 1,05,174 crore), while personal income tax grew at 2.87 percent (Rs 63,195 crore as against Rs 61,433 crore). Lower growth in net collection was mainly on account of higher tax refund outgo of 63.95 percent at Rs 33,137 crore as against Rs 20,212 crore last fiscal.

Net collections during the month of October 2009 continued to be positive at Rs 20,822 crore compared to Rs 19,708 crore during October,2008. Further during the month personal income tax growth was 16.1 percent(Rs 11,398 crore against Rs 9817 crore last fiscal), whereas corporate tax recorded a negative growth of 4.72 percent (Rs 9424 crore against Rs 9891 crore last fiscal).

Growth in Securities transaction tax picked up at 3.79 percent during April - October 2009 (Rs 3865 crore as against Rs3724 crore) compared to the corresponding period last fiscal. Direct tax collection growth slowed due to higher tax refunds, while corporate and personal tax trends diverged. Net direct tax collections for the first seven months showed modest growth with corporate receipts outpacing personal income tax, but substantially higher tax refunds materially constrained net collection growth; October collections remained positive with stronger personal tax monthly growth, weaker corporate monthly receipts, and marginal rise in Securities Transaction Tax over the April-October period.