The Central government on Friday reported that direct tax collections continued to show a steady growth till February 2017 and were up by 10.7 per cent from the year-ago period. The net Indirect tax collection up to February 2017 stood at Rs.7.72 lakh crore. 

"The collection net of refunds stands at Rs.6.17 lakh crore, which is 10.7 per cent more than the net collections for the corresponding period last year. This collection is 72.9 percent of the total Budget estimates for direct taxes for Financial Year 2016-17," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the growth rates for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT), in terms of gross revenue collections, showcased growth with rate under CIT being 11.9 per cent while that under PIT (including STT) is 20.8 per cent.

However, after adjusting for refunds, the net growth in CIT collections is 2.6 per cent while that in PIT collections is 19.5 per cent. Refunds amounting to Rs.1.48 lakh crore have been issued during April 2016- February 2017, which is 40.2 per cent higher than the refunds issued during the corresponding period last year, the ministry said. 

Meanwhile the figures for indirect tax collections (Central Excise, Service Tax and Customs) up to February 2017 showed that net revenue collections are at Rs.7.72 lakh crore, which is 22.2 per cent more than the net collections for the corresponding period last year. Till February 2017, about 90.9 per cent of the Revised Estimates (RE) of indirect taxes for FY 2016-17 has been achieved.

On account of Central Excise, net tax collections stood at Rs.3.45 lakh crore during April-February, 2016-17 as compared to Rs.2.53 lakh crore during the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, thereby registering a growth of 36.2 per cent. The net tax collections on account of service tax during April-February, 2016-17 stood at Rs.2.21 lakh crore as compared to Rs.1.83 lakh crore during the corresponding period, a growth of 20.8 per cent as compared to the previous fiscal. The collections on account of Customs during April-February 2016-17 stood at Rs.2.05 lakh crore as compared to Rs.1.94 lakh crore during the same period in the previous Financial Year, thereby registering a growth of 5.2 per cent.