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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026

 

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--Govt Apr-Aug fiscal deficit 41.9% of FY27 Budget target of INR 16.958 tln
--Govt Apr-Aug fiscal deficit INR 7.102 tln vs INR 5.982 tln year ago
--Govt Apr-Aug total expenditure INR 20.780 tln vs INR 18.809 tln year ago
--Govt Apr-Aug capital expenditure INR 5.10 tln vs INR 4.316 tln year ago
--Govt Apr-Aug total receipts INR 13.677 tln vs INR 12.827 tln year ago
--Govt Apr-Aug non-tax revenue INR 4.545 tln vs INR 4.403 tln year ago
--Govt Apr-Aug gross tax revenue INR 14.319 tln vs INR 13.440 tln year ago
--Govt: Apr-Aug state tax devolution INR 5.904 tln vs INR 5.301 tln yr ago
--Govt Aug fiscal deficit INR 2.551 tln vs INR 1.297 tln deficit year ago
--Govt Aug total expenditure INR 3.161 tln vs INR 3.172 tln year ago
--Govt Aug capital expenditure INR 593 bln vs INR 846.53 bln year ago
--Govt Aug total receipts INR 610 bln vs INR 1.875 tln year ago
--Govt Aug non-tax revenue INR 315 bln vs INR 367.24 bln year ago
--Govt Aug gross tax revenue INR 2.139 tln vs INR 2.511 tln year ago

 

NEW DELHI – The Central government's fiscal deficit rose 18.7% on year in the first five months of 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) as total expenditure grew faster than receipts, data released by the Controller General of Accounts Wednesday showed. The fiscal deficit was at 41.9% of the target of INR 16.958 trillion for the full year ending March, data showed. In the corresponding period a year ago, the fiscal deficit for the first five months was 38.1% of the FY26 Budget estimate.

 

The government's fiscal deficit was at INR 7.102 trillion in Apr-Aug. Total expenditure was INR 20.780 trillion, accounting for 38.9% of the Budget target. Total receipts were INR 13.677 trillion, accounting for 37.5% of the Budget target. Total expenditure rose 10.5% on year in Apr-Aug, mainly due to higher capital expenditure by the government, while total receipts grew 6.6% on year.

 

In August, the fiscal deficit nearly doubled on year to INR 2.551 trillion, on the back of sharp fall in total receipts last month. Receipts fell 67.5% to INR 661 billion in August, as there was an outflow in net tax collections due to a decline in tax mop-up and front-loading of devolution of taxes to states. Net tax collections in August saw an outflow of INR 66.39 billion compared with an inflow of INR 1.486 trillion a year earlier.

 

The government's gross tax collections fell 14.8% in August to INR 2.139 trillion. To top it, the government's devolution to states more than doubled during the month to INR 2.180 trillion.

 

However, the government's gross tax revenue in Apr-Aug rose 6.5% on year to INR 14.319 trillion. The growth in gross tax collections last month came amid a sharp 23% contraction in excise duty collections, owing to the excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel earlier in the fiscal, even as most other taxes posted a double-digit growth during this period, ICRA said in a note. 

 

Given the revenue shortfall anticipated on the taxes side as well as additional subsidy requirements on the fuel and fertiliser front, ICRA estimates the fiscal deficit to overshoot the Budget estimate by around INR 1.3 trillion-INR 1.4 trillion. However, this could be absorbed by expenditure savings, which amounted to INR 1.6 trillion-INR 1.7 trillion during FY26," Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA, said in the note. 

 

To meet the government's FY27 gross tax collection target, ICRA said current trends show that tax collection need to grow by 10.9% on year in the remaining part of FY27. "This warrants a 21% growth in income tax collections, albeit on a low base, and a 31% expansion in excise duty collections, both of which are unlikely to materialise, leading to a miss on these accounts," Nayar said. "However, this would be partly offset by higher-than-budgeted collections on the customs duty front, aided by the duty hikes on gold and silver imports."

 

The Controller General of Accounts detailed the government's accounts for August and Apr-Aug as follows (in INR billion):

 

	August 2026	July 2026	August 2025	Year-on-year % change
Revenue receipts	248.97	2,533.3	1,853.19	(-)86.6
Net tax revenue	(-)66.39	2,079.84	1,485.95	-
Non-tax revenue	315.36	453.49	367.24	(-)14.1
Recovery of loans	15.36	14.93	14.15	8.6
Other receipts	345.67	26.4	7.66	4,412.7
Total receipts	610	2,574.66	1,875.00	(-)67.5
Revenue expenditure	2,567.91	2,944.00	2,325.84	10.4
Capital expenditure	593.14	1,103.77	846.53	(-)29.9
Total expenditure	3,161.05	4,047.77	3,172.37	(-)0.4
Fiscal deficit	2,551.05	1,473.11	1,297.37	96.6
Revenue deficit	2,318.94	410.67	472.65	390.6

 

	Apr-Aug 2026	Apr-Aug 2025	Year-on-year % change	Budget estimates	% of actuals to Budget estimates
					FY27	FY26
Revenue receipts	12,924.70	12,507.39	3.3	355,331.5	36.6%	36.6%
Net tax revenue	8,379.21	8,104.07	3.4	28,669.22	29.2%	28.6%
Non-tax revenue	4,545.49	4,403.32	3.2	6,662.28	68.2%	75.5%
Recovery of loans	130.91	85.53	53.1	383.97	34.1%	29.5%
Other receipts	621.48	234.17	165.4	800.0	77.7%	49.8%
Total receipts	13,677.09	12,827.09	6.6	36,515.47	37.5%	36.7%
Revenue expenditure	15,680.09	14,492.83	8.2	41,254.94	38.0%	36.7%
Capital expenditure	5,099.49	4,315.79	18.2	12,218.21	41.7%	38.5%
Total expenditure	20,779.58	18,808.62	10.5	53,473.15	38.9%	37.1%
Fiscal deficit	7,102.49	5,981.53	18.7	16,957.68	41.9%	38.1%
Revenue deficit	2,755.39	1,985.44	38.8	5,923.44	46.50%	37.90%

 

Source: Controller General of Accounts

 

End

 

Reported by Shweta

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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