The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has released its latest Time Series Data for FY 2000-01 to FY 2024-25, revealing record-breaking trends in tax collections, compliance, and taxpayer growth. The provisional figures show that India's net direct tax collections surged to ₹22.26 lakh crore in FY 2024-25, up from ₹19.60 lakh crore in the previous fiscal year.
Direct Tax-to-GDP Ratio Reaches 6.73% - Highest in Recent Years
The data indicates a steady rise in India's direct tax-to-GDP ratio, which touched 6.73% in FY 2024-25, compared with 6.51% in FY 2023-24. This mirrors sustained economic expansion and improved tax enforcement mechanisms driven by data analytics, GST integration, and digital monitoring.
Corporate and Personal Income Tax Collections Jump
According to the report, corporate tax collections reached ₹9.86 lakh crore, while non-corporate taxes (including individual taxpayers) surged to ₹12.35 lakh crore in FY 2024-25. Both components exhibited strong year-on-year growth buoyed by formalisation, rising income levels, and widening digital compliance.
The dataset also shows consistent improvements in advance tax, TDS, and self-assessment tax, contributing to a total gross direct tax receipt of ₹27.03 lakh crore in FY 2024-25 - the highest ever.
Massive Growth in Taxpayer Base: Over 12.13 Crore Taxpayers
Another highlight is the rapid surge in India's taxpayer base. The total number of taxpayers for AY 2024-25 has reached 12.13 crore, up sharply from 10.41 crore in AY 2023-24. Individual taxpayers alone contribute more than 11.61 crore, indicating deeper penetration of the tax net.
Filing trends also reflect consistent improvements:
- 9.18 crore income-tax returns were filed in FY 2024-25
- Individual ITR filings rose to 8.68 crore, up from 8.13 crore in FY 2023-24.
States Leading Direct Tax Growth
The state-wise break-up reveals that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu remain the top contributors. Maharashtra alone collected ₹8.97 lakh crore, followed by Karnataka (₹2.61 lakh crore) and Delhi (₹2.29 lakh crore) in FY 2024-25.
Cost of Collection Drops to a Historic Low
Despite soaring revenues, the cost of collection has fallen to just 0.41% in FY 2024-25 - one of the lowest among major tax administrations globally. This reflects the impact of automation, faceless assessments, and integrated digital systems.
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