APRIL-SEPT ADVANCE TAX RECEIPTS UP 32 PCT

India's direct tax receipts topped 1 trillion rupees ($25.1 billion) within the first half of the 2007/08 fiscal year, driven by a 32 percent increase in advance tax payments, the finance ministry said on Monday.  Direct tax collections were 1.06 trillion rupees from the start of April to September 21, an increase of more than 40 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement. Corporate tax receipts rose 42.4 percent to 672.1 billion rupees and income tax receipts rose 37.5 percent to 388.2 billion rupees. A finance ministry official said advance tax payment by firms and individuals during April to September rose by 32 percent from a year earlier to 598 billion rupees