New Delhi, May 4 -- The government collected Rs.23.4 trillion in direct taxes after adjusting for refunds in FY26, posting a 5% annual growth but missing its lowered revised target for the year, official data released on Monday showed.

In the Union budget for FY27, presented on 1 February, the government had lowered its net direct tax revenue target for FY26 by just below Rs.1 trillion to Rs.24.2 trillion. This implies a 3.3% shortfall in tax receipts from the revised estimates.

Within direct taxes, the government collected Rs.10.99 trillion of corporate tax during the fiscal year, 11.4% higher than FY25. This mop-up from companies is higher than the year's original target, but slightly lower than the subsequent upwardly revised figure....