Financial sector companies, led by insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and private lender HDFC Bank, have posted a healthy increase in their second quarter advance tax payout belying sluggishness in the economy, reports PTI.
LIC paid an advance tax of Rs1,300 crore, compared to Rs1,165 crore it had paid in the second quarter of last fiscal, income tax officials said.
HDFC Bank’s tax payment increased to Rs1,100 crore from Rs800 crore last year while its larger rival ICICI Bank saw its second quarter advance tax outgo jump to Rs815 crore from Rs650 crore, an official said.
Advance tax is a staggered way of paying income taxes through the year and is generally taken as a barometer to corporate earnings for the period.
The deadline for filing the advance tax returns for the second quarter was 15th September.
State-run lender Bank of Baroda’s second quarter tax outgo went up to Rs620 crore from Rs600 crore while Dena Bank’s payments saw impressive jump to Rs180 crore against Rs77 crore it paid last year, officials said.
Payments from foreign banks also displayed a jump with Citi leading the way with Rs400 crore, about Rs100 crore more over the the amount paid last year, they said.
Among other sectors, FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever’s tax outgo rose to Rs300 crore from Rs190 crore while for Ambuja Cement, it jumped to Rs160 crore from Rs95 crore in the corresponding period last year, they said.
Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra saw its advance tax payments increase to Rs200 crore from Rs176 crore, they added.
http://www.moneylife.in/article/lic-hdfc-bank-lead-advance-tax-payouts-in-second-quarter/28518.html
