No Coercive Tax Recovery From Payee For TDS Default By Payer: CBDT

The CBDT has issued a letter dated 1st June 2015 stating that grievances have been received by the Board from many taxpayers that in their cases the deductor has deducted tax at source from payments made to them in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XVII of the Income-tax Act but has failed to deposit the same into the Government. The CBDT has pointed out that under section 205 of the Act, the assessee shall not be called upon to pay the tax to the extent that tax has been deducted from the income. It has emphasized that the Act puts a bar on direct demand against the assessee in such cases and the demand on account of tax credit mismatch cannot be enforced coercively. The CBDT has asked all assessing officers not to put the assessees to any inconvenience on account of the default of tax info into the Government account by the deductor.