Q4 Advance Tax: Banks likely to aid Mumbai meet its target

Banking and financial institutions recorded a healthy growth in fourth and final quarter of current financial year, leaving the tax department hopeful of meeting the Mumbai target of Rs 1.74 lakh crore, reports Ashmit Kumar of CNBC-TV18.

While till yesterday there were apprehensions that Mumbai may fall short of target in this quarter, however on the last day cautious optimism was replaced by a sense of confidence.

Overall, the banks were the star performers. Both HDFC and HDFC Bank recorded a healthy growth in their payout. While HDFC banks advance tax payment grew by 100 crore, HDFC saw 19% jump in payout from a year ago quarter. ICICI Bank also saw a similar uptick, with payout rising to Rs 550 crore versus Rs 425 crore. Bank of India , very nearly doubled its tax payout.
 
Even the relatively smaller banks - the likes of Kotak Mahindra, Dena and IndusInd - saw healthy growth in terms of their payout. Kotak Mahindra Bank 's payout rose to Rs 160 crore from Rs 122 crore from year ago. Foreign banks such as Stanchart, Citibank also kept pace with their Indian counterparts. Global banking major Standard Chartered paid Rs 475 crore as against Rs 435 crore last year.

State Bank of India (SBI), however, brought a sense of gloom with its payout slipping by as much as Rs 200 crore at Rs 1,450 crore. Among the biggies,  Reliance Industries also disappointed as its payout dipped marginally to Rs 1,034 crore from Rs1,130 crore. 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), meanwhile, continued to sprint ahead with its payout at Rs 600 crore versus Rs 550 crore. Insurance heavyweight, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) also didn't fail to impress, the payout soaring by Rs 100 crore.

Fast Moving Consumer Goods proved to be a mixed bag. While ITC saw a slightly lower payout at Rs 675 crore versus Rs 695 crore, Hindustan Unilever tax payout soared by as much as 20 percent.

Tax department was little worried about auto sector, however they were not disappointed. Mahindra and Mahindra payout jumped by 15 percent, while Bajaj Auto also managed to have a similar uptick in its payout.

In the cement space, both Ambuja and ACC did well. Ambuja tax payout grew by Rs 30 crore to Rs 280 crore, whereas, ACC saw a jump of nearly 50 percent.

In the manufacturing space as expected. Tata Steel saw a massive fall in its payout from Rs 900 crore to Rs 380 crore. Larsen and Toubro , also appeared under severe pressure as tax payout tumbled by Rs 80 crore. Hindalco and Siemens also recorded sharp falls in terms of their payout. Hindalco's payout declined to Rs 95 crore as against Rs 145 crore.