The Centre’s direct tax collections, after refunds, stood at Rs 11.26 trillion in April 1-October 10, accounting for 51% of the full year’s target, official data released on Friday showed.

The collections so far are up 18.4% on year, which is higher than the full year’s growth projection of 12.8%. If sustained, the actual mop-up could surpass the Budget estimate of Rs 22.07 trillion by a decent margin.

The mop-up includes personal income tax collection of Rs 5.98 trillion, corporate tax collection of Rs 4.95 trillion, and Securities Transaction Tax (STT) mop up of Rs 30,630 crore.

Refunds during April 1-October 10 stood at Rs 2.31 trillion, which were up 46% on year.

Collections before refunds, meanwhile, stood at Rs 13.57 trillion, up 22.3% on year. This includes PIT (personal income tax) mop up of Rs 7.13 trillion and corporate tax of Rs 6.11 trillion.

The slower pace of spending despite buoyant revenues will likely rein the fiscal deficit below 4.9% of GDP in the current financial year.

Spending on the new or revamped schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) and Urban (PMAY-U), scheme for the productization of Indian technology and employment-linked incentives will likely materialise in the second half of 2024-25.