New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- India's net direct tax collections rose 13.2% year-on-year to Rs.13.38 lakh crore so far this fiscal as of 14 October, provisional data from the income tax department released on Thursday showed. The net direct tax mop-up was at Rs.11.82 lakh crore in the year ago period. Gross direct tax collections rose 14.9% to Rs.16.03 lakh crore from Rs.13.95 lakh crore, while refunds rose 24.2% to Rs.2.65 lakh crore from Rs.2.13 lakh crore, the data showed. The Union budget for financial year 2027 (FY27) has pegged government's net tax revenue at Rs.28.67 lakh crore and the gross figure at Rs.26.97 lakh crore. Direct taxes, a major source of government revenue to fund its expenditure, comprise corporate and non-corporate taxes, including personal income tax and securities transaction tax (STT). India's net corporate tax collections grew 20.7% to Rs.5.99 lakh crore, compared with Rs.4.97 lakh crore a year ago. Net non-corporate tax collections, which include taxes paid by individuals, Hindu undivided families, firms and other entities, rose 5.8% to Rs.6.92 lakh crore from Rs.6.54 lakh crore. A stronger corporate tax mop-up points to robust receipts from companies, as the economy enters into the second half of the fiscal. Gross corporate tax collections grew 16.9% to Rs.7.53 lakh crore, while the gross non-corporate tax rose 11.6% to Rs.8.03 lakh crore, the data showed. Gross direct tax collections of Rs.16.03 lakh crore as of 14 October amounted to about 59.4% of the Rs.26.97 lakh crore budgeted for FY27. STT collections for the period were up 51.6% to Rs.46,840 crore from Rs 30,902 crore a year ago. Refunds issued so far this fiscal rose to Rs.2.65 lakh crore from Rs.2.13 lakh crore. In this, non-corporate tax refunds rose to Rs.1.11 lakh crore from Rs.66,550 crore a year ago, while corporate refunds increased to Rs.1.54 lakh crore from Rs.1.47 lakh crore. The healthy tax collections come amid improving growth prospects for the Indian economy....