The gross direct tax collection for the first two months of this fiscal was up by 37 percent while the net direct tax collection declined by 48 percent in the same time period. According to the data released by the Finance Ministry, the decline in the net direct taxes was due to more than 200 per cent increase in tax refunds given by the Income Tax Department in the month of April and May. Net tax is calculated by deducting refunds from the gross tax. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, CBDT, provided a tax refund of over 37,450 crore rupees in April and May this year as against only 11,800 crore rupes in same period last year. The total net direct tax collection declined from over 24,800 crore rupees in the said period last year to 12,900 crore rupees this year. The budget estimates for direct tax collections for the current fiscal is about 5.33 lakh crore rupees.