CHAPTER XVII — COLLECTION AND RECOVERY OF TAX · B.—DEDUCTION AT SOURCE
CHAPTER XVII — COLLECTION AND RECOVERY OF TAX · B.—DEDUCTION AT SOURCE
Section 203A — Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN)
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. The deductor-identification provision; mechanical.
Finance Act, 2026: No amendment.
Mechanism: Every deductor/collector must obtain and quote a TAN in TDS/TCS documents; dispensed with for sections 194-IA/194-IB (PAN-based); breach attracts section 272BB penalty.
Litigation profile: Negligible. A mechanical registration provision — the candour rule applies.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 203A requires every person deducting (or collecting) tax at source to obtain a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) and to quote it in all TDS/TCS challans, certificates, statements and other prescribed documents. The TAN is the unique identifier that links a deductor to his deductions in the tax administration's systems, and is the backbone of the automated matching of deduction, deposit, statement and credit.
Purpose and the PAN interface
The provision exists to make the deduction trail traceable end-to-end. For certain provisions (notably the immovable-property TDS under section 194-IA and the rent TDS under section 194-IB), the requirement to obtain a TAN is dispensed with and the deductor uses his PAN with a challan-cum-statement, a deliberate simplification for one-off deductors. Failure to obtain or quote a TAN attracts penalty (section 272BB).
A mechanical registration provision — candour
Section 203A is mechanical and is not litigated on its own terms; the consequence of breach lies in the penalty provision. In candour, there is no body of section 203A merits authority.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended up to the Finance Act, 2025 (the Finance Act, 2026 makes no amendment to this section). Editorial markers “***” denote text omitted by the Legislature.
203A. (1) Every person, deducting tax or collecting tax in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, who has not been allotted a tax deduction account number or, as the case may be, a tax collection account number, shall, within such time as may be prescribed, apply to the Assessing Officer for the allotment of a "tax deduction and collection account number".
(2) Where a "tax deduction account number" or, as the case may be, a "tax collection account number" or a "tax deduction and collection account number" has been allotted to a person, such person shall quote such number—
(a) in all challans for the payment of any sum in accordance with the provisions of section 200 or sub-section (3) of section 206C;
(ba) in all the statements prepared and delivered or caused to be delivered in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 200 or sub-section (3) of section 206C;
(c) in all the returns, delivered in accordance with the provisions of section 206 or sub-section (5A) or sub-section (5B) of section 206C to any income-tax authority; and
(d) in all other documents pertaining to such transactions as may be prescribed in the interests of revenue.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to such person, as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule observed: section 203A is a mechanical registration provision with no merits authority. The statutory scheme is offered.
Statutory backdrop — TAN and its exceptions
TAN requirement and the section 194-IA/194-IB dispensation
Principle: Every deductor must obtain and quote a TAN; the requirement is dispensed with for one-off deductors under sections 194-IA and 194-IB (who use PAN with a challan-cum-statement). Breach attracts penalty under section 272BB.
Use: States the registration duty and its practical exceptions.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text is reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; case-law citations have been web-verified. Where a section is new, narrow or substantially unlitigated, the candour rule is observed — the absence of direct authority is stated and only genuinely cognate authority is offered. This digest is for professional reference and is not a substitute for the official report of any judgment.
CHAPTER XVII — COLLECTION AND RECOVERY OF TAX · B.—DEDUCTION AT SOURCE
Section 203A — Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN)
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. The deductor-identification provision; mechanical.
Finance Act, 2026: No amendment.
Mechanism: Every deductor/collector must obtain and quote a TAN in TDS/TCS documents; dispensed with for sections 194-IA/194-IB (PAN-based); breach attracts section 272BB penalty.
Litigation profile: Negligible. A mechanical registration provision — the candour rule applies.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 203A requires every person deducting (or collecting) tax at source to obtain a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) and to quote it in all TDS/TCS challans, certificates, statements and other prescribed documents. The TAN is the unique identifier that links a deductor to his deductions in the tax administration's systems, and is the backbone of the automated matching of deduction, deposit, statement and credit.
Purpose and the PAN interface
The provision exists to make the deduction trail traceable end-to-end. For certain provisions (notably the immovable-property TDS under section 194-IA and the rent TDS under section 194-IB), the requirement to obtain a TAN is dispensed with and the deductor uses his PAN with a challan-cum-statement, a deliberate simplification for one-off deductors. Failure to obtain or quote a TAN attracts penalty (section 272BB).
A mechanical registration provision — candour
Section 203A is mechanical and is not litigated on its own terms; the consequence of breach lies in the penalty provision. In candour, there is no body of section 203A merits authority.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended up to the Finance Act, 2025 (the Finance Act, 2026 makes no amendment to this section). Editorial markers “***” denote text omitted by the Legislature.
203A. (1) Every person, deducting tax or collecting tax in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, who has not been allotted a tax deduction account number or, as the case may be, a tax collection account number, shall, within such time as may be prescribed, apply to the Assessing Officer for the allotment of a "tax deduction and collection account number".
(2) Where a "tax deduction account number" or, as the case may be, a "tax collection account number" or a "tax deduction and collection account number" has been allotted to a person, such person shall quote such number—
(a) in all challans for the payment of any sum in accordance with the provisions of section 200 or sub-section (3) of section 206C;
(b) in all certificates furnished under section 203 or sub-section (5) of section 206C;
(ba) in all the statements prepared and delivered or caused to be delivered in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 200 or sub-section (3) of section 206C;
(c) in all the returns, delivered in accordance with the provisions of section 206 or sub-section (5A) or sub-section (5B) of section 206C to any income-tax authority; and
(d) in all other documents pertaining to such transactions as may be prescribed in the interests of revenue.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to such person, as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule observed: section 203A is a mechanical registration provision with no merits authority. The statutory scheme is offered.
Statutory backdrop — TAN and its exceptions
TAN requirement and the section 194-IA/194-IB dispensation
Principle: Every deductor must obtain and quote a TAN; the requirement is dispensed with for one-off deductors under sections 194-IA and 194-IB (who use PAN with a challan-cum-statement). Breach attracts penalty under section 272BB.
Use: States the registration duty and its practical exceptions.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text is reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; case-law citations have been web-verified. Where a section is new, narrow or substantially unlitigated, the candour rule is observed — the absence of direct authority is stated and only genuinely cognate authority is offered. This digest is for professional reference and is not a substitute for the official report of any judgment.