The duty of the person liable to deduct/collect tax at source:
- He shall obtain TAN Number and
- He shall deduct and collect the tax at the source at the applicable rate.
- He shall pay the tax deducted and collected by him to the credit of the Govt. and file the periodic TDS/TCS statements, i.e., TDS/TCS return.
- Issue the TDS/TCS certificate in respect of tax deducted or collected by him.
Due Dates for filing of TDS/TCS return
The due dates for filing of TDS/TCS return for different quarters are as under: –
| Quarter ending | The due date for filing of TDS return (Both for Government and other Deductor) | The due date for filing of TCS return |
| 30th June | 31st July | 15th July |
| 30th September | 31st October | 15th October |
| 31st December | 31st January | 15th January |
| 31st March | 31st April | 15th April |
| *31st March 2021 | 31st May 2021 | 15th May 2021 |
* For the current scenario because of COVID-19 the time period will be extended as said above.
Basic provisions
Any person who fails to file the TDS or TCS returns or does not file the TDS or TCS return by the due dates in this respect must pay late filing fees under section 234E and apart from late filing fees he shall be liable to pay penalty under section 271H.
Late filing fees under section 234E
If a person fails to file the TDS or TCS return on or before the due date then he shall be liable to pay a sum of Rs. 200 per day during the continuous failure. The late fees shall not exceed the TDS amount.
TDS or TCS returns cannot be filed without payment of late filing fees.
It should be noted that Rs. 200 per day is not a penalty but it is a late filing fee.
Illustration
The quarterly statement of TDS returns for the first quarter of the year 2020-21 is filed by Mr.X on 4-4-2021. Tax deducted at source during the quarter amounted to Rs. 5,40,000. What will be the number of late filing fees to be paid by him for the delay in filing the TDS return?
**
The due date for filing of TDS return for the first quarter of the year 2020-21 i.e. April 2020 to June 2020 is 31st July 2020. The return is filed on 4th April 2021, thus there is a delay of 247 days as computed below:
| Particulars | Days |
| August 2020 | 31 |
| September 2020 | 30 |
| October 2020 | 31 |
| November 2020 | 30 |
| December 2020 | 31 |
| January 2021 | 31 |
| February 2021 | 28 |
| March 2021 | 31 |
| April 2021 | 4 |
| Total | 247 |
From the above computation, it can be observed that there is a delay of 247 days. Late filing fees under section 234E will be charged at Rs. 200 per day, thus for 247 days, the late filing fees will come to Rs. 49,400.
The penalty under section 271H
Where a person fails to file the statement of tax deducted or collected at source (i.e. TDS or TCS) return on or before the due dates, then AO (assessing officer) may direct such person to pay penalty under section 271H.
The minimum penalty can be levied of Rs. 10,000 which can be up to Rs. 1,00,000. The penalty under section 271H will be in addition to late filing fees prescribed under section 234E.
Apart from the delay in filing of TDS/TCS return, section 271H also covers cases of filing incorrect TDS/TCS return.
In Simple words, a minimum penalty of Rs. 10,000 and a maximum penalty of up to Rs. 1,00,000 can be levied if the deductor or collector files an incorrect TDS/TCS return.
It should be noted that the above relaxation is applicable only in case of penalty levied under section 271H for the delay in filing the TDS or TCS return and not in case of filing an incorrect TDS or TCS statement.
