The government 's direct tax collection for the period April-February stood at Rs 7.44 lakh crore, rising 19.5% on year."The provisional figures of direct tax collections up to February, 2018 show that net collections are at Rs 7.44 lakh crore which is 19.5 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year," a finance ministry statement said. Income tax collections witnessed a growth of 18.6% while the corporate tax mop up grew at 19.7% for the period between April and February.The refund for direct tax stood at Rs 1.39 lakh crore for April-February period.(With inputs from PTI)