Advance tax paid by the top 100 companies rose 14 per cent in the June quarter at ₹13,530 crore, against ₹11,830 crore logged in the same period last year, according to sources in the Income-Tax Department.
The last date to pay advance tax was June 15.
The corporate tax mop-up from Mumbai-based companies, which account for 30 per cent of the annual collection, was boosted largely by higher remittance from oil refining and marketing companies. Manufacturing, banks and fast moving consumer goods firms, however, were laggards. Corporate houses have to pay advance tax on their projected earnings a fortnight before the end of every quarter.
Reliance Industries, which is fighting a pitched battle with the Government for a higher gas price, increased its payout by 6 per cent to ₹826 crore (₹779 crore).
Life Insurance Corporation marked up its remittance by 20 per cent to ₹849 crore.
Among oil marketing companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation paid 48 per cent and 56 per cent more tax, at ₹197 crore and ₹90 crore, respectively.
Indian Oil Corporation, which skipped payment last year, deposited ₹136 crore.
Bogged down by rising bad loans and consequent provisioning, most public sector banks either trimmed or maintained the payout at last year’s level.
Payments by State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were up 3 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively, at ₹1,240 crore and ₹330 crore.
While Central Bank of India’s payout was down 53 per cent at ₹109 crore, Bank of India’s was up 17 per cent at ₹240, and Union Bank’s rose 9 per cent to ₹229 crore.
Among private banks, ICICI Bank’s remittance moved up 14 per cent to ₹725 crore, while that of Kotak Mahindra Bank was higher at ₹135 crore (₹112 crore). HDFC Bank’s was up 16 per cent at ₹820 crore.
Among foreign banks, Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation’s payments were down 15 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively, at ₹320 crore and ₹218 crore. Citi Bank’s was up 3 per cent at ₹330 crore.
TCS tops list Among Tata Group companies, Tata Consultancy Services topped the list at ₹710 crore (₹455 crore), even as Tata Power’s tax outgo was down 82 per cent at ₹22 crore.
Tata Steel paid 40 per cent more at ₹450 crore, while Tata Chemicals’ stood at last year’s level of ₹29 crore.
Aditya Birla Group companies UltraTech Cement, Hindalco Industries and Grasim Industries paid lower tax of ₹80 crore (₹105 crore), ₹20 crore (₹30 crore) and ₹18 crore (₹19 crore), respectively.