Hyderabad: I-T sleuths race to meet target before march 31

Hyderabad: For the next 16 days, industrialists, businessmen and anyone who has the potential to be a tax evader in the two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh can expect unwanted guests in the form of income tax sleuths turning up on their doorsteps!

Income tax raids, surveys and searches will be stepped up till March 31 as the taxmen are racing against time to achieve the target set for them by the Union finance ministry.

The total net collection in the I-T Hyderabad region (which includes Telangana and AP) stands at Rs 46,551 crore for the financial year 2018-19 (till March 12, 2019). Of this Rs 23,574 crore is corporate tax and Rs 22,913 crore is personal income tax.

The income tax department’s target is Rs 60,845 crore (Rs 26,987 crore to be collected as corporate tax and Rs 33,858 crore as personal income tax).

With the total net collection at Rs 46,551 crore (till yesterday), Hyderabad has registered a growth rate of 15.6 per cent, slightly better than the national growth rate of 12.6 per cent.

While the all-India tax collection stands at close to Rs 8.74 lakh crore (as of yesterday), the all-India target for 2018-19, set by the Union finance ministry, is a staggering Rs 11.5 lakh crore for the 18 I-T regions across the country including Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.

According to region-wise collection of taxes, accessed by Deccan Chronicle, Mumbai, as always, topped the list with total net collection of over Rs 2.65 lakh crore, registering a growth of 7.2 per cent, and New Delhi stood second with over Rs 1.34 lakh crore. However, in terms of growth rate, Delhi was ahead of Mumbai, registering a growth rate of 23.7 per cent.  

In the last financial year, the net collection of Hyderabad I-T region was Rs 40,270 crore.

Among other south Indian cities, Bengaluru, with a total net collection of Rs 98,405 crore, registered a growth rate of 14 per cent, Chennai, with total tax collection of `60,145 crore, registered a growth rate of 8.8 per cent. Kochi, with total tax collection of Rs 12,665 crore had a growth rate of 1.3 per cent.

Interestingly, the Bhubaneshwar I-T region collected Rs 10,195 crore as against Rs 7,549 crore, registering a growth rate of 35.1 per cent.

The worst performer was the Nagpur I-T region with total net tax collection of Rs 3,294 crore and a growth rate plunging down to -4.3 per cent.

Sources told this newspaper that with the Union finance ministry expressing its displeasure at the tax collection of the Hyderabad region, the I-T department is geared up to conduct a string of raids and surveys to achieve the target, or at least come closer to it.

“Staggering targets obviously lead to more raids, searches and investigations. Till March 31, we will be doing everything possible to increase the tax collection as there is tremendous pressure,” admitted one I-T official.