NEW
DELHI: Failure to deposit timely and correct TDS or TCS will now attract a
penalty ranging from Rs 200 to Rs one lakh by theIncome
Tax
department.
All
the Tax
Deducted at Source (TDS) range offices of the department across the country have
been asked by the Central Board ofDirect Taxes (CBDT) to ensure
compliance in this area and also inform and make aware the authorised deductors
about this new action being initiated by the taxman.
According
to the new instructions issued, a deductor, either government or private, will
have to submit a "compulsory" fine of Rs 200 for delay in filing
either TDS or Tax Collected at Source (TCS) every day beyond the stipulated
date of remittance of these category of taxes.
Similarly,
the penalty would be between Rs 10,000 to Rs one lakh for furnishing incorrect
information or failure to file the collection statement within the due date.
"The
assessing officer of the department will use sections 234E and 271H of the I-T
Act to ensure that TDS or TCS collections are not delayed or faltered. The
department, in many cases, has found that deductors delay for long the filing
of these category of taxes even after deducting it from the salary of their
employees," a senior official said.
The
TDS regime has to be strengthend and hence such measures are important, the
official said.
A
big chunk of 41 per cent, in the total tax collections in the last fiscal, came
from the TDS category alone.
During
financial year 2012-13, Rs 2,30,188 crore tax was collected under the TDS
category while the total direct taxes collections stood at 5,58,970 crore.
The
department, during its recent deliberations with top I-T and CBDT officials here, has
also decided to strengthen its regime for obtaining TDS from salaries of
employees in order to collect more revenue under this category.
