SBI Advance Tax Payment Down 33 Per Cent At Rs.1130 Crore; HDFC Up 16 Per Cent

Mumbai: The country's largest lender State Bank of IndiaBSE -0.61 per cent today reported a 33 per cent decline in its advance tax payment for the December quarter at Rs 1,130 crore.

The bank paid Rs.1,130 crore as against Rs.1,701 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, it said in a statement.

Advance tax is a system of staggered payments of income taxes across the year in four quarterly instalments. It is generally considered as a barometer of a company's performance for a particular quarter.

Meanwhile, sources said mortgage lender HDFCBSE -1.05 per cent is likely to have paid Rs.650 crore in the reporting quarter against Rs.560 crore a year go, an increase of 16.07 per cent.

The last day for the December quarter tax payments has been extended by two days to December 17 as December 15, which is the usual date of payment, came on a weekend.

This is the second consecutive quarter that the country's largest lender, and also one of the biggest taxpayers in the financial capital, has shown a decline in its tax outgo.

In the September quarter, SBIBSE -0.61 per cent had paid Rs.1,120 crore, down 40 per cent. The bank said for the September-November period, its foreign offices paid Rs.216 crore in taxes.