MM TAX CLUB

Payroll Data: EPFO adds 15.48 lakh net members during February 2024

EPFO’s provisional payroll data released on 20^th April, 2024 highlights that EPFO has added 15.48 lakh net members in the month of February, 2024.

The data indicates that around 7.78 lakh new members have been enrolled during February, 2024. A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 56.36% of the total new members added in February 2024 indicating the majority of individuals joining the organized workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers.

The payroll data highlights that approximately 11.78 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, safeguarding long-term financial well-being and extending their social security protection.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data unveils that out of 7.78 lakh new members, around 2.05 lakh are new female members. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.08 lakh. The female member addition is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the industries viz. establishments engaged in manufacture, marketing servicing & usage of computers, companies/societies/assc/clubs/troupes for performances, road motor transport, automobile servicing, Textiles etc. Of the total net membership, around 41.53% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).

The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September, 2017 onwards. In monthly payroll data, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members exiting from coverage of EPFO and those who exited but re-joining as members, is taken to arrive at net monthly payroll.

Net Direct Tax collections (provisional) for the FY 2023-24 exceed Revised Estimates by Rs. 13,000 crore

Gross Direct Tax collections (provisional) for FY 2023-24 stand at Rs. 23.37 lakh crore registering a growth of 18.48% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y)

Net Direct Tax collections (provisional) for the FY 2023-24 stand at Rs. 19.58 lakh crore marking a growth of 17.70% Y-o-Y

Refunds aggregating to Rs. 3.79 lakh crore issued in FY 2023-24

The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 show that Net collections are at Rs. 19.58 lakh crore, compared to Rs. 16.64 lakh crore in the preceding Financial Year i.e. FY 2022-23, representing an increase of 17.70%.

The Budget Estimates (BE) for Direct Tax revenue in the Union Budget for FY 2023- 24 were fixed at Rs. 18.23 lakh crore which were revised and the Revised Estimates (RE) were fixed at Rs. 19.45 lakh crore. The provisional Direct Tax collections (net of the refunds) have exceeded the BE by 7.40% and RE by 0.67%.

The Gross collection (provisional) of Direct Taxes (before adjusting for refunds) for the FY 2023-24 stands at Rs. 23.37 lakh crore showing a growth of 18.48% over the gross collection of Rs. 19.72 lakh crore in FY 2022-23.

The Gross Corporate Tax collection (provisional) in FY 2023-24 is at Rs. 11.32 lakh crore and has shown a growth of 13.06% over the gross corporate tax collection of Rs. 10 lakh crore of the preceding year. The Net Corporate Tax collection (provisional) in FY 2023- 24 is at Rs. 9.11 lakh crore and has shown a growth of 10.26% over the net corporate tax collection of Rs. 8.26 lakh crore of the preceding year.

The Gross Personal Income Tax collection (including STT) (provisional) in FY 2023- 24 is at Rs. 12.01 lakh crore and has shown a growth of 24.26% over the Gross Personal Income Tax collection (including STT) of Rs. 9.67 lakh crore of the preceding year. The Net Personal Income Tax collection (including STT) (provisional) in FY 2023-24 is at Rs. 10.44 lakh crore and has shown a growth of 25.23% over the Net Personal Income Tax collection (including STT) of Rs. 8.33 lakh crore of the preceding year.

Refunds of Rs. 3.79 lakh crore have been issued in the FY 2023-24 showing an increase of 22.74% over the refunds of Rs. 3.09 lakh crore issued in FY 2022-23.

Total 641 APAs done since inception of the APA programme

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into a record 125 Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) in FY 2023-24 with Indian taxpayers. This includes 86 Unilateral APAs (UAPAs) and 39 Bilateral APAs (BAPAs). This marks the highest ever APA signings in any financial year since the launch of the APA programme. The number of APAs signed in FY 2023-24 also represents a 31% increase compared to the 95 APAs signed during the preceding financial year. With this, the total number of APAs since inception of the APA programme has gone up to 641, comprising 506 UAPAs and 135 BAPAs.

During FY 2023-24 CBDT also signed the maximum number of BAPAs in any financial year till date. The BAPAs were signed as a consequence of entering into Mutual Agreements with India’s treaty partners namely Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Singapore, the UK and the US.

The APA Scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the arm’s length price of international transactions in advance for a maximum of five future years. Further, the taxpayer has the option to rollback the APA for four preceding years, as a result of which, tax certainty is provided for nine years. The signing of bilateral APAs additionally provides the taxpayers with protection from any anticipated or actual double taxation.

The APA programme has contributed significantly to the Government of India’s mission of promoting ease of doing business, especially for Multi National Enterprises () which have a large number of cross-border transactions within their group entities.

Mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd on Tuesday (April 16) said it has received a GST (Goods and Services Tax) penalty order of ₹27.97 crore for the period of FY 2018-19 to FY2020-21. The penalty stems from a dispute regarding Input Tax Credit reconciliations spanning the financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21.

"The company has received an Order from the Office of the Additional Commissioner, GST & Central Excise Commissionerate, Rourkela, confirming Penalty of Rs 27.97 crore along with Tax demand and applicable Interest," according to a stock exchange filing.

Vedanta promptly announced its intention to appeal the order with the Appellate Authorities, seeking a favourable resolution to the dispute. In its statement addressing the matter, Vedanta reassured stakeholders that it does not anticipate any material financial impact resulting from the penalty.

"The company intends to file an appeal against the said Order with the Appellate Authorities. The company is hopeful of a favourable outcome thereof and does not expect the said Order to have any material financial impact on the company," it added.

Shares of Vedanta Ltd ended at ₹378.00, up by ₹7.45, or 2.01% on the BSE.

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