Buoyancy In Payments Signals India Inc Travelling On Higher Profit Trajectory

Advance tax kitty swells in Q4

New Delhi: India Inc seems to have fared well in the current financial year, despite a overhang of the global slowdown, considering the buoyancy in the trend of advance tax payment. 

    Barring a few, most companies have paid a higher tax in January-March quarter and for fiscal 2009-10, a source in the Income-Tax Department said. "According to preliminary data, several companies have paid a higher tax this quarter," the source added. 
    Advance tax payment for the fourth quarter indicates that LIC, RIL and TCS are among the top few that have projected hefty growth in their profitability. LIC with Rs 864 crore payment for the fourth quarter was again much above RIL's Rs 770 crore. In the same period last year, the public sector life insurer had paid Rs 810 crore as compared to RIL's tax outgo of Rs 365 crore. 
    Of the few banks whose details are available, the tax mopup from the sector has been very poor. Bank of India paid Rs 100 crore against Rs 590 crore last year. Union Bank of India paid Rs 185 crore against Rs 253 crore last year. 
    In the quarter up to December, banks had done remarkably well with Allahabad Bank leading the pack registering the highest growth of 658% in its advance tax payment with an outgo of Rs 341 crore in the April-December period against Rs 45 crore in the same period last year. The top 10 corporate entities that showed highest percentage growth in payment of advance tax up to December, included three from the banking sectors, Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda, besides Bharti Airtel, Jindal Power, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Udyog, Indian Oil and Grasim Industries. 
    In the fourth quarter, Aditya Birla group firm Grasim Industries has paid Rs 216 crore advance tax compared to Rs 65 crore it paid in the year-ago period. Its total payment for this fiscal has gone up to Rs 811 crore from Rs 285 crore in FY'09. 
League Of Top Taxpayers 
tLIC with Rs 864 crore payment for the fourth quarter was again much above RIL's Rs 770 crore tBank of India paid Rs 100 crore against Rs 590 crore last year. tUnion Bank of India paid Rs 185 crore against Rs 253 crore last yearAdvance tax bails out mkts 
Mumbai: The damages inflicted on the market sentiment by an inflation figure that beat most forecasts to inch close to the doubledigit figure on Monday were nullified by strong advance tax payment numbers from a host of leading corporates. As a result, the sensex ended just 2 points lower at 17,165, off its intra-day low at 17,061 on a day marked by low volumes. The nifty ended 9 points down at 5,129. 
    On Monday, the government said the rate of inflation as of February-end was 9.89%, compared to 8.56% a month ago and about 9.60% predicted by a large number of economists. The rise in the rate of inflation is now raising the chances that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will hike interest rates in its policy meeting scheduled towards the end of April. 
    The negative effects of high inflation, however, were nullified by robust advance tax payment numbers from frontline companies like Reliance Industries and TCS. As a result, the sensex rallied from the day's low to an intraday high at 17,195 but ended off that mark. 
    Dealers said the market is showing signs of fatigue as it is unable to sustain at higher levels and this could now lead to some correction.