India’s fiscal performance is off to a promising start in 2025-26. Gross direct tax mop-up has increased by 4.09% to ₹22.78 lakh crore till February 10 from the previous year’s ₹21.88 lakh crore for the April 1 to same date period.
After accounting for ₹3.34 lakh crore in refunds, net direct tax collections stand at ₹19.43 lakh crore, reflecting a healthier 9.40% growth against ₹17.76 lakh crore last year when refunds were higher at ₹4.11 lakh crore.
Corporate taxes led the charge with net collections of ₹8.89 lakh crore (vs. ₹7.77 lakh crore), followed by non-corporate at ₹10.03 lakh crore (vs. ₹9.47 lakh crore). STT revenues edged up to ₹50,279 crore from ₹49,201 crore. Gross other taxes fetched ₹358.44 crore, netting ₹326.38 crore post-refunds.
Complementing this, GST collections in January soared 6.2% to ₹1.93 lakh crore, with April-January cumulative gross at ₹18.43 lakh crore (up 8.3%). Net GST for January grew 7.6% to ₹1.70 lakh crore, and year-to-date net at ₹15.95 lakh crore (up 6.8%).
Economists view this as evidence of broadening tax base and digital enforcement paying dividends. With capital markets buoyant and personal incomes rising, projections suggest even stronger collections ahead, aiding deficit reduction targets.