New Delhi: More than one-third of the top 50
corporate tax payers in the country have paid over 50 per cent
more advance tax in the second quarter of this fiscal compared
to the same period last year, showing signs of economic
recovery.
Advance corporate tax collections rose 14.7 per cent in
the September quarter to Rs 44,010 crore against Rs 38,367
crore in the year-ago quarter, finance ministry officials
said. In the first quarter, it had fallen 3.7 per cent at Rs
20,728 crore.
The high growth in advance corporate tax payments for the
second quarter was led by sectors such as PSU banks, software,
automobile and energy. Sectors such as realty, mining and
metals continued to remain down.
Overall, of the top 50 corporate tax payers, only 12
companies paid less in the second quarter year-over-year and
the major falls came from ONGC, NMDC, Tisco, HSBC, South
Eastern Coalfields and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam.
The maximum rise in banking was recorded by State Bank of
Hyderabad (206 per cent), Bank of India (199 per cent), Canara
Bank (170 per cent), Oriental Bank of Commerce (97 per cent),
Union Bank of India (92 per cent), Corporation Bank (63 per
cent) and Axis (58 per cent).
Other firms that showed huge rise in advance tax payments
include RIL (69 per cent), Airtel (221 per cent), Infosys (100
per cent), Maruti (98 per cent), PFC (52 per cent), Grasim
(233 per cent), TCS (172 per cent), HAL (67 per cent),
Bajaj Auto (89 per cent), Siemens (69 per cent) and ACC (257
per cent).
The top five advance corporate tax payers up to the
second quarter are SBI, ONGC, RIL, LIC and SAIL. Though tax
collections fell for the two quarters from ONGC and SAIL, it
showed a marked increase from SBI, RIL and LIC.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 18:58