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According to the Monthly Account of the Union Government of India upto the month of November 2023, the Government of India has received Rs 17,45,583 crore (64.3% of corresponding BE 2023-24 of Total Receipts) upto November 2023 comprising Rs 14,35,755 crore Tax Revenue (Net to Centre), Rs 2,84,365 crore of Non-Tax Revenue and Rs 25,463 crore of Non-Debt Capital Receipts. Non-Debt Capital Receipts consists of Recovery of Loans Rs 16,604 crore and Miscellaneous Capital Receipts of ₹8,859 crore. Rs 6,01,366 crore has been transferred to State Governments as Devolution of Share of Taxes by Government of India upto this period which is Rs 50,261 crore higher than the previous year.
Total Expenditure incurred by Government of India is Rs 26,52,167 crore (58.9% of corresponding BE 2023-24), out of which Rs 20,66,522 crore is on Revenue Account and Rs 5,85,645 crore is on Capital Account. Out of the Total Revenue Expenditure, Rs 6,07,963 crore is on account of Interest Payments and Rs 2,42,756 crore is on account of Major Subsidies.
GST collection up 10% on year in December
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections surged 10% year-on-year in December 2023 to Rs 1.65 lakh crore, the Ministry of Finance stated. At Rs 1.65 lakh crore, the December GST collections is 2% lower than the Rs 1.68 l akh crore collected in November. This is the tenth month in a row that the monthly GST collection has come in above the Rs 1.5-lakh-crore mark. The average monthly collection in FY24 is Rs 1.66 lakh crore.
Ministry of Finance announces General Provident Fund interest rate for current quarter at 7.1%
According to the Ministry of Finance, during the year 2023-2024, accumulations at the credit of subscribers to the General Provident Fund and other similar funds shall carry interest at the rate of 7.1% w.e.f . 1 January, 2024 to 31th March, 2024. This rate will be in force w.e.f .1 January, 2024.
ITR Filings Increased By 9% Y-o-Y For AY 2023-24 Upto 31.12.2023
The Income-tax Department has recorded a surge in filing of Income-tax Returns (ITRs), resulting in a new record of 8.18 crore ITRs for the A.Y. 2023-2024 filed upto 31.12.2023 as against 7.51 crore ITRs filed upto 31.12.2022. This is 9% more than the total ITRs filed for A.Y. 2022-23. The total number of audit reports and other forms filed during the period is 1.60 crore, as against 1.43 crore audit reports and forms filed in the corresponding period of preceding year.
It is also observed that a large number of taxpayers did their due diligence by comparing data of their financial transactions by viewing their Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS). A substantial portion of the data for all ITRs was prefilled with data pertaining to salary, interest, dividend, personal information, tax payment including TDS related information, brought forward losses, MAT credit, etc to further ease compliance by taxpayers. The facility was used extensively, resulting in smoother and faster filing of ITRs.
Further, during this F.Y. 2023-2024, a digital e-pay tax payment platform - TIN 2.0 was made fully functional on the e-filing portal, replacing the OLTAS payment system. This enabled user-friendly options for e-payment of taxes such as Internet Banking, NEFT/RTGS, OTC, Debit Card, payment gateway and UPI. TIN 2.0 platform has enabled real time credit of taxes to taxpayers which made ITR filing easier and faster.
State Governments/UTs market borrowings expected at Rs 4.13 lakh crore in Q4FY24 says RBI
The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the State Governments/Union Territories (UTs), announces that the quantum of total market borrowings by the State Governments/UTs for the quarter January – March 2024, is expected to be Rs 4,13,452 Crore. The actual amount of borrowings and the details of the States/UTs participating would be intimated by way of press releases two/ three days prior to the actual auction day and would depend on the requirement of the State Governments/UTs, approval from the Government of India under Article 293(3) of the Constitution of India and the market conditions, the central bank says.
Outlook:
The near term focus on the economic front will likely shift towards the Economic Survey and the Union Budget though overall narrative in public finance will be that of steady improvement on fiscal font. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated in a latest update that India’s fiscal position is improving on the back of ongoing fiscal consolidation, strong tax revenue and improved quality of expenditure. Following a sharp increase during the pandemic, the gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of the central government has been on a declining trend and is expected to meet the medium-term target of 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26. The debt-to-GDP ratio of the Central Government is projected to fall from 62.8 per cent in 2020-21 to 57.4 per cent in 2023-24. The overall fiscal assessment is unlikely to change unless there is a major spurt in crude oil prices or a general rise in commodities globally.
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