Advance tax collections from Top 100 companies up 19%

The Government has netted Rs126.62bn in the form of advance tax from the country’s top 100 corporates during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. ONGC, SBI and RIL lead the league table of the country’s top 100 tax payers for the first quarter. The Q1 FY11 advance tax numbers reflect a jump of nearly 19% over the year-earlier levels. ONGC and SBI paid Rs10.93bn and Rs8.69bn, respectively, while RIL paid Rs6.53bn. ONGC and RIL’s payments are up 24.2% and 108% respectively, whereas in the case of SBI, the country’s top lender, it was down 18%. The country’s second-largest lender ICICI Bank’s tax payments were flat at Rs3.5bn for the quarter, while Punjab National Bank showed an increase of 34.32%, paying RS3.17bn. Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) paid 73% more advance tax at Rs2.25bn as against Rs1.3bn paid during the corresponding period a year ago. Similarly, telecom giant Bharti Airtel paid Rs1.79bn as against Rs1bn paid during the same period last year, the sources said. Overall, the advance tax collections for the April-June quarter point to a healthy performance.