The gross direct tax collection (corporate tax, non-corporate tax, securities transaction tax and other levies) in the current fiscal (2025-26) rose by 4.86 per cent to Rs 5.45 lakh crore (as of June 19), according to the latest figures released by the Income Tax (I-T) department.

However, net collections saw a marginal decline due to a rise in refunds. Net direct tax collection saw a marginal decline of 1.39 per cent to Rs 4,58,822 crore from Rs 4,65,275 crore in the previous year.

The government issued direct tax refunds of Rs 86,385 crore till June 19 — an increase of 58.04 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of 2024-25, as per the official data.

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), net direct tax collection includes corporate tax at Rs 1.72 lakh crore (net of refund), non-corporate tax at Rs 2.72 lakh crore and securities transaction tax at Rs 13,013 crore (net of refund).

As the non-corporate tax collection fell 2.68 per cent in advance tax, corporate tax grew by 5.68 per cent. Overall advance tax receipts grew by 3.87 per cent to Rs 1,55,533 crore.

Levied on the income or profit of a person, Direct taxes are directly paid by an individual to the government.

The I-T department recently launched the 'e-Pay Tax' feature which aims to simplify tax-related procedures for taxpayers. The Union Budget has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the Income-tax Act, 1961, to make the Act more transparent.

Meanwhile, India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection for May 2025 reached Rs 2.01 lakh crore, marking a 16.4 per cent rise compared to the Rs 1.72 lakh crore collected in May 2024.

This marks the second month in a row that GST revenues have stayed above the Rs 2 lakh crore mark, indicating healthy economic activity and steady consumption growth. In April, GST collections had touched an all-time high of Rs 2.37 lakh crore, which was a 13 per cent jump from March, according to the Ministry of Finance data.