Income Tax dept amends TDS form, makes it more comprehensive

As per the amended form, banks will have to report Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for cash withdrawals above Rs 1 crore

The Income Tax department has amended the TDS form, making it more comprehensive and mandating deductors to state reasons for non-deduction of tax.

As per the amended form, banks will also have to report Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for cash withdrawals above Rs 1 crore.

Through a notification, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has amended Income Tax Rules to include TDS on e-commerce operators, dividend distributed by mutual funds and business trusts, cash withdrawals, professional fees and interest.

Nangia & Co LLP Partner Shailesh Kumar said with this notification, the government has revised the format of forms 26Q and 27Q, where details of TDS amount deducted and deposited on various resident and non-resident payments are required to be filled.

Form 26Q is used for quarterly filing of TDS returns on any payment other than salary to Indian residents by the government or corporates operating in India.

Form 27Q is used for quarterly filing of TDS returns electronically on any payment other than salary to non- residents, including NRIs and foreigners. Except for government deductors, it is mandatory for all other deductors to mention their PAN in the form.

Kumar said "the new forms are more comprehensive and require payers to report not only those cases where TDS is deducted, but also cases where TDS is not deducted for any reason. Separate codes have been provided to cover different situations of deduction of TDS at lower rate/ non-deduction of TDS."

The revised forms and rules also seek to incorporate reporting for new sections of TDS inserted in the Income Tax Act, such as Section 194N for cash withdrawals, Section 197A permitting non-deduction of TDS in various situations, among others.

In the 2019-20 budget, the government had introduced a TDS levy of 2 per cent on cash withdrawals of more than Rs 1 crore from a bank account in one financial year to discourage business payments in cash.