Advance tax pay-up by India Inc presents a rosy picture, despite a massive fall in April IIP numbers and a likely fall in the remaining months of Q1; with the largest lender SBI leading the pack with1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) against850 crore (Rs 8.50 billion) in the year-ago period. Income Tax department sources said on Wednesday that oil and gas major RIL has paid900 crore (Rs 9 billion) in the first quarter of this fiscal, up nearly 50 per cent from650 crore (Rs 6.50 billion) in the same quarter previous fiscal.Companies from across the sectors paid up more in advance tax this quarter than the year-ago period, except cement companies which had a poor showing. Companies from across the sectors paid up more in advance tax this quarter than the year-ago period, except cement companies which had a poor showing. The third in the list is the insurance giant LIC, which made an advance tax payment of580 crore (Rs 5.80 billion) in the first quarter of this fiscal, against530 crore (Rs 5.30 billion) last fiscal.
Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software exporter, saw its tax bill nearly doubling to240 crore (Rs 2.40 billion) in the reporting period from128 crore (Rs 1.28 billion) in the year-ago quarter.
The fourth in the list is the state-run Deposit Insurance & Credit Guarantee Corporation which saw an outgo of475 crore (Rs 4.75 billion) against400 crore (Rs 4 billion) last time.
Banks too, barring a few state-run ones, have paid up more. Leading foreign bank Citi saw its advance tax outgo jumping 50 per cent to150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion) from100 crore (Rs 1 billion), state-run IDBI Bank saw the tax bill soaring over 125 per cent to180 crore (Rs 1.80 billion) against81 crore (Rs 810 million) in Q1 last year.The second largest foreign bank, HSBC, too paid up more, with a tax outgo of250 crore (Rs 2.50 billion) against225 crore (Rs 2.25 billion).State-run lenders like Bank of India paid165 crore (Rs 1.65 billion) as against158 crore (Rs 1.58 billion) in Q1 last year; Bank of Baroda paid250 crore (Rs 2.50 billion) versus225 crore (Rs 2.25 billion) earlier; Dena Bank paid around55 crore (Rs 550 million) as against45 crore (Rs 450 million) in Q1 last year, while Central Bank of India saw its advance tax payout declining to145 crore (Rs 1.45 billion) as against150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion) in the same quarter previous year.All the private sector lenders have paid up more in taxes this time. While the largest private sector lender ICICI Bank paid390 crore (Rs 3.90 billion) as against350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion) in the first quarter of the previous year, the immediate competition HDFC Bank coughed up350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion) up from315 crore (Rs 3.15 billion) that it paid in Q1 last year.Kotak Mahindra Bank's advance tax outgo stood at60 crore (Rs 600 million) up from45 crore (Rs 450 million), and Yes Bank paid60 crore (Rs 600 billion) as against50 crore (Rs 500 million).Pure-play mortgage lender HDFC saw its tax bill rising to250 crore (Rs 2.50 billion) from215 crore (Rs 2.15 billion) in the reporting period, and so did LIC Housing Finance which saw its tax bill rising to47 crore (Rs 470 million) in the reporting quarter from38 crore (Rs 380 million).
Among auto companies, barring the largest player Tata Motors, which saw its tax bill dipping a tad to62 crore (Rs 620 million) from65 crore (Rs 650 million), all others reported higher numbers.Bajaj Auto paid125 crore (Rs 1.35 billion) up from110 crore (Rs 1.10 billion), Mahindra & Mahindra paid nearly 50 per cent more at90 crore (Rs 900 million) as against63 crore (Rs 630 million).Steel major Tata Steel also saw its tax bill shrinking during the reporting quarter to280 crore (Rs 2.80 billion) from300 crore (Rs 3 billion), so did another group company Tata Chemicals, which paid up only 27 crore (Rs 270 million) against 29 crore (Rs 290 million).
Aluminium major Hindalco's tax bill rose to80 crore (Rs 800 million) as against55 crore (Rs 550 million). So did the engineering behemoth L&T which coughed up175 crore (Rs 1.75 billion) in advance taxes, up from130 crore (Rs 1.30 billion).
Similarly, consumer goods leader HUL too saw its tax bill jumping to100 crore (Rs 1 billion) from75 crore (Rs 750 million).
Oil companies presented a mixed picture with Bharat Petroleum paying a little more than half of what it had paid last time at77 crore (Rs 770 million), against126 crore (Rs 1.26 billion); while both Hindustan Petroleum and MRPL paid up more at62 crore (Rs 620 million) as against61 crore (Rs 610 million) and100 crore (Rs 1 billion) up from67 crore (Rs 670 million), respectively.
Cement players saw their tax outgo shrinking. ACC saw its tax bill declining to45 crore (Rs 450 million) from50 crore (Rs 500 million), Ambuja too paid up less at50 crore (Rs 500 million) as against65 crore (Rs 650 million), while UltraTech bucked the trend with a sharp spike in its tax bill at37 crore (Rs 370 million) against22 crore (Rs 220 million).
Pharma major Lupin paid18 crore (Rs 180 million) up from16 crore (Rs 160 million), AC major Voltas paid more at23 crore (Rs 230 million) as against18 crore (Rs 180 million) in Q1 last year, and the tobacco leader Godfrey Philips saw its tax bill exactly doubling to12 crore (Rs 120 million) from6 crore (Rs 60 million).
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