There have been many changes in TDS / TCS provisions in Income Tax Law. The interpretation and implementation issues being manifold, the Nagpur Branch of ICAI organized a VCM on Recent Changes in TDS / TCS Provisions for the benefit of its members.
“TDS used to be a simple law a few years back; over the years TDS has become really tedious,†remarked CA Makarand Joshi, Past Vice Chairman of WIRC while speaking as a Chief Guest at VCM on TDS / TCS Amendments organized by Nagpur Branch of ICAI.
There are a lot of interpretational issues in law and every professional needs to understand it properly for effective implementation. CA Makarand Joshi remarked that the COVID pandemic has impacted the lives of every citizen of our country. The government could have prolonged the implementation of various changes in the Income Tax Act in this scenario, when WFH is the rule of the day and the increase in the number of COVID cases is alarming and when we are following all safety and security measures.
A taxpayer is not expected to pay a penalty or pay interest for interpretation issues of law, said CA Joshi.
The digitization of income tax applications has made life easy for cross reconciliation of data and the pre-fill utility of Income Tax Returns and cross-matching with Form 26AS is a welcome step of the Government, he said.
There are so many provisions of TDS / TCS applicable from July 1 and everyone must understand and follow all provisions correctly, he appealed. All taxpayers must follow all rules prescribed in the Act very diligently to avoid notices from the Department.
CA Makarand Joshi complimented CA Saket Bagdia, Chairman of the Branch for taking excellent initiatives for the benefit of members.
“You need to be diligent and need to interpret the law correctly to comply with all provisions,†said CA Saket Bagdia, Chairman, Nagpur Branch. The complexities in law need to be understood properly by professionals and they need to explain to their clients in a simple language. TDS and TCS provisions represent not only advance tax collections by the Central Government but also cross-check as regards transactions by various persons.
Chartered Accountants are expected to be diligent in the interpretation of the law. The new TDS Provisions applicable from July 1 need to be properly understood and meticulously followed.
CA Prachi Parekh from Mumbai elaborated on the recent changes in TDS/TCS Provisions. She explained in detail amended TDS provisions applicable from the last financial year. She elaborated in detail on provisions of Section 194-N w.e.f. 1st September 2019 related to TDS on cash withdrawals by Banks, Section 194-O w.e.f. 1st  October 2020 related to TDS on payments by e-commerce operators to e-commerce participants, Section 194 w.e.f. 1st April 2020 related to TDS on dividends by companies and other related TDS amendments.
CA Parekh mentioned about the confusions and intricacies involved in the interpretation of Section 206C(1H) applicable w.e.f. 1st October’ 2020 related to TCS to be recovered by Seller on the amount received in respect of sale proceeds from Debtors and Section 194Q applicable from July 1 related to TDS to be deducted by Purchaser in respect of purchases from vendors @0.1%. The issue of TCS Collection versus TDS deduction was explained in detail by the Speaker. The more relevant clause which is creating more confusion amongst Tax Deductors is of a higher rate of TDS deduction for non-filers of Income Tax Returns w.e.f. July 1 u/s 206AB which was effectively explained by CA Prachi Parekh. The queries of members were effectively resolved in the discussion.
The Session was coordinated by Immediate Past Chairman CA Kirit Kalyani. A formal Vote of Thanks was proposed by CA Sanjau M Agrawal, Secretary of the Branch. Prominently present on the occasion were CA Akshay Gulhane, Treasurer, CA Rajesh Loya, Past Chairman, CA Rajesh P Agrawal, CA Yash Verma, CA Thakur Manuja, CA Ankit Sugandh, CA Naresh Jakhotia, and other members.