New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): India's direct tax collection between April and December in the current fiscal at Rs 6.56 lakh crore was 18.2 per cent higher than for the corresponding period last year, according to an official announcement on Tuesday.

A Finance Ministry statement said the collections till December represent 67 per cent of the total budget estimates for direct taxes for fiscal 2017-18.

"Provisional figures of direct tax collections up to December 2017 show that net collections are at Rs 6.56 lakh crore, which is 18.2 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year," the Ministry tweeted.

"Net direct tax collections represent 67 per cent of total budget estimates of direct taxes for FY 2017-18 (Rs 9.8 lakh crore)," the release said here.

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), gross collections before adjusting for refunds have increased by 12.6 per cent to Rs 7.68 lakh crore during April-December 2017. Refunds amounting to Rs 1.12 lakh crore have been issued during this period.

A total of Rs 3.18 lakh crore has been received as advance tax till December, reflecting a growth of 12.7 per cent on this count over the corresponding period of last year, the statement said.

"The growth in corporate income tax advance tax is 10.9 per cent and that in personal income tax advance tax is 21.6 per cent," it added.