Lower TDS certificate

Application for the NIL / Lower TDS Deduction Certificate for FY 2020-21 may be made from 28 February 2020.

Under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, deduction of tax deducted at Sources (TDS) is mandatory while making payments. The taxpayer making the payment must deduct the TDS and deposit it to the Department of Income Tax before the assigned due date for depositing the TDS.

At times, the TDS is deducted from the total income of the taxpayer, i.e. the recipient, whereas the total tax liability of the taxpayer is calculated on the profit of that financial year. It is in accordance with the prevailing income tax rates/rules which may be less than the total amount of the TDS deducted.

In those cases, TDS will be deducted first, and the taxpayer can claim the refund of the excess amount of TDS deducted while filing the return on income tax (ITR). But the whole process turns out to be a hassle for many taxpayers because firstly TDS is deducted and later on the taxpayer asks for its refunds by filing ITR.

To make it easy, 

Section 197 has been issued by the government which allows taxpayers to use the Nil / Lower  Deduction of the TDS Certificate. But often the process of obtaining the Nil / Lower Deduction TDS Certificate takes a lot more time than expected.

To address this issue, the Government is allowing taxpayers to apply for the Nil / Lower TDS Deduction Certificate for the financial year 2020-21 from 28 February 2020.

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Will the New Optional Tax Regime, affect Tax Savings in Larger India??

Budget 2020 – Optional Tax Regime and Side Effects.

Its argued that with an option to choose Tax model as per Budget 2020, Individuals may have lower incentives to save which can impact long term savings in India. It augurs well for the Govt, considering we are in relative slowdown times and look to boost consumption.

As against the Wishlist of a few for a New TAX Savings bond, the new option does not incentivize the bonds and all the more, assesses’ are induced towards reduced taxes for no deduction overall.

Much discussed but perhaps not so acknowledged issue of low demand metrics seems to be addressed by the new tax method as it enables citizens to choose rather than forced save for taxes.

Changing Habits:-
Saving habits are already changing with lifestyle changes and digital ways of living.
As per a recent study, there is a marked reduction in Indian savings from erstwhile 36% in 2012 to just about 30% currently.
However, the big question among all is that, whether the tax incidence on lower and lower middle class reduces overall in absolute terms? During these times of slowdown where Govt is constantly looking for more revenue sources, perhaps the idea is to move towards deductions free regime with simplified tax model which can engulf more Indians in the tax net with a specific eye on the largely let off businesses so far & the unorganized sector.

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TCS on Foreign Tours & Travel:- Income Tax Amendment 1st April 2020

 TCS on Foreign Tours & Travel

As they say, the devil lies in the details, Budget 2020 has got a lot of catches to relate to. One of the important ones is that our FM Nirmala Sitharaman has seemed to have zeroed on folks traveling abroad on foreign tours & travel, their travel plan being booked by travel agents as part of small holiday packages. This is very common now in both Govt & Private Sector employees.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has raised alarm bells for those who travel abroad on tour package booked by others, which is a common trend to oblige senior officials in government and private sectors in the country.

Come, April 1, 2020, every foreign traveler will have to pay 5% (PAN holder) and 10% (non-PAN holder) TCS (Tax Collection at Source) on the total amount of tour package. Once the TCS is charged, total income for individuals will automatically be grossed up as liability & thus a large entity will be encircled with the realms of Income-tax department, which often escapes the TAX FILED income as per IT RETURN.

Earlier provision to mention passport number in ITR is now given more teeth to levy a tax on a large number of people, who go abroad on leisure trips several times in a year.

More often than not, there is black money involved as trips are often financed by the business houses in return for undue favors from bureaucrats, govt officials and other business entities in society. Trips can be a form of bribe or enticement in return for the aforesaid work insight.

As it may look, that every foreign visitor whether he is an income taxpayer or not will now be part of the tax gambit. However, there is a relief for people whose annual income is under the threshold limit (under Rs 5 lakh) visits a foreign country. These folks can apply for a refund of TCS from the Dept. of Income-tax.

The move is seen very effective as it will restrain the massive use of unaccounted money into the system via Foreign Tours and large no. of individuals n entities will be added newly to the mainstream Tax System @ GOI.

Industry Impact-

On top of levy of taxes, Govt intends to bank on new-age technology like DATA Analytics, etc. to retrieve information about frequent flyers who often end up spending lavishly on Global tours and travel. 5% TCS is a huge sum on the foreign travel package bill which will increase the burden of this distinctive travel class. Travel Industry is also looking to change and adapt to the new business dynamics. With all this, this can turn to abound to challenging provision for government employees and their family members, doctors, etc. who visit abroad on sponsorship.

Key Changes –
  • Every foreign traveler has to pay 5% and 10% tax collection at sources (TCS) on the total amount of tour package
  • Stop the practice of Concentration of Tour operators with a view of group bookings as an operator  maligning the process with illicit funding via unorganised channels.

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