Interest And Penalty for TDS Default

Interest and penalty can be levied if a person who is required to deduct TDS under the statutory provisions of the Income Tax Act, fails to do so. In this article, we discuss the applicable interest and penalty for TDS default.

Interest Provision Under TDS

The following are TDS default for which interest is payable –

• Person liable to deduct TDS does not deduct TDS at all.
• Person after deducting TDS fails to pay whole or part of the tax to the credit of the Government.

In case of the above failures, the provisions of Section 201 of the Income Tax Act are invoked and interest is payable as under:

1. Interest in case of non-deduction of TDS – Interest shall be levied @1% for every month or part of the month from the date on which TDS was deductible till the date on which TDS actually deducted.
2. Interest in case of non-payment / late payment of TDS – Interest shall be levied @1.5% for every month or part of the month from the date on which TDS was deducted till the date on which TDS was actually credited to the Government.

TDS not Deducted on Payments made to Resident

As per proviso to Section 201 of the Income Tax Act, if the person liable to deduct TDS fails to deduct the whole or part of the TDS on payment being done to a resident, then, in such cases, the person liable to deduct TDS cannot be deemed as an assessee-in-default for non-deduction, if all the undermentioned conditions are satisfied –

1. The recipient is a resident in India;
2. The recipient has furnished his income tax return under section 139;
3. The recipient has paid applicable taxes due on the income declared in an income tax return filed by him;
4. The resident payee furnishes a certificate from an accountant in form No. 26A to this effect.

If all the above conditions are satisfied, then person liable to deduct TDS would not be treated as assessee-in-default for non-deduction or less deduction of TDS and the taxpayer would be liable to pay interest @1% from the date on which TDS was deductible till the date the resident recipient has furnished his income tax return. Taxpayers should also note that as per provisions of section 201(1A), it is mandatory to pay interest for delay in payment of TDS or for non-payment / non-deduction of TDS before filing a TDS return.

Penalty provisions under TDS

The penalty provisions under TDS are as follows:

Penalty For Non-deduction / Non-payment Of TDS

As per provisions of Section 271C penalty for non-deduction/non-payment of TDS would be an amount equal to tax not so deducted/paid.

Penalty For Delay in TDS Return Filing

A penalty of INR 200 per day is payable until the failure continues. However, a maximum penalty payable would be subjected to TDS amount.