Published 19 October 2026
Every June, employees ask for their Form 16, and every quarter, contractors and professionals ask for their Form 16A. Both are now issued under new numbers. The certificate is the deductee’s evidence that tax was deducted and paid on his behalf. A certificate the deductor drafts himself, instead of downloading it from TRACES, is not a valid one. This guide covers which certificate goes to whom, by when, and how it is produced.
Which Act applies
Section 203 of the 1961 Act and rule 31 of the 1962 Rules govern certificates for tax deducted up to 31 March 2026, including Form 16 for financial year 2025-26, due by 15 June 2026. From tax year 2026-27 the obligation is in section 395(4) of the 2025 Act:
“(a) Every person deducting or collecting tax shall issue a certificate to the deductee or collectee, as the case may be, specifying— (i) the amount of tax that has been deducted or collected; (ii) the rate at which tax has been deducted or collected; and (iii) any other particulars, as may be prescribed, within such period as may be prescribed;”
Clause (b) adds a certificate from an employer who pays tax on an employee’s non-monetary perquisites under section 392(2)(a), the counterpart of section 192(1A). The forms and dates are in rule 215 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
The forms, old and new
| Certificate | 1962 Rules (rule 31 / 37D) | 2026 Rules (rule 215) | Issued for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary and specified senior citizens | Form 16 | Form No. 130 | Section 392 (other than 392(7)) and section 393(1) [Table: Sl. No. 8(iii)] |
| Other TDS | Form 16A | Form No. 131 | Section 392(7), section 393(1) (other than Sl. Nos. 2(i), 3(i), 6(ii), 8(vi)), and sections 393(2) and 393(3) |
| PAN-based transactions | Forms 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E | Form No. 132 | Section 393(1) [Table: Sl. Nos. 2(i), 3(i), 6(ii), 8(vi)] |
| TCS | Form 27D | Form No. 133 | Section 394(1) |
Due dates
| Form | Due date (rule 215(1)) |
|---|---|
| 130 | By 15 June of the financial year after the tax year in which tax was deducted |
| 131 and 133 | Within 15 days from the due date of the quarterly statement: 15 August, 15 November, 15 February and 15 June |
| 132 | Within 15 days from the due date of the challan-cum-statement in Form No. 141 |
These match the 1962 Rules for Forms 16 and 16A: Form 16 by 15 June, and Form 16A within fifteen days from the statement due date under rule 31A. For TCS, Form No. 133 now follows the later 31 July / 31 October / 31 January / 31 May statement calendar.
The certificate comes from TRACES, after the statement
Rule 215(1) requires the certificate to be furnished “after generating and downloading the same from the web portal specified by the Director General of Income-tax (Systems)”. The incometaxindia.gov.in FAQs on Forms 130 and 131 explain what this means:
- a quarterly statement must be filed first, because the certificate “is generated as a result of processing of quarterly TDS statements”;
- the deductor “must mandatorily download it from the TRACES website” and give it to the deductee “after signing it digitally or manually”;
- “The certificate prepared by the employer or specified bank through any other mode/process will not be a legal or valid TDS certificate”.
So a certificate cannot be issued before the statement is processed. A deductor who files the statement late also issues the certificate late.
Signing. Rule 215(4) permits digital signatures. Rule 215(5) then requires that the contents cannot be changed after signing, and that each certificate carries a control number recorded in a log the deductor keeps.
Form No. 130 for salary
Per the FAQ, Form No. 130 has three parts:
- Part A: details of the employer or specified bank and of the employee or senior citizen.
- Part B: a summary reconciliation of amounts paid or credited and tax deducted.
- Part C: Annexure I computes the employee’s taxable salary income, covering the gross salary break-up, exemptions, deductions, relief under section 157, and tax payable. Annexure II does the same for a specified senior citizen whose pension and interest are taxed by the bank under section 393(1) [Table: Sl. No. 8(iii)].
More than one employer. Rule 215(2) requires each employer to issue Parts A and B for its period of employment. Part C “may be issued by each of the employers or the last employer at the option of the assessee”. The employer computing tax uses the earlier salary particulars the employee gives in Form No. 122 (rule 204, under section 392(4)). Evidence of claims for deductions is given in Form No. 124 (rule 205, under section 392(5)(b)). For how these figures go into a return, see the walkthroughs ITR-1 with Form 16 import and ITR-1 with two employers.
Form No. 131 and Form No. 133
Form No. 131 is issued every quarter by each deductor, for the tax that deductor has deducted. The FAQ notes that it also applies to non-residents where the payment is reported in Form No. 144 “with valid PAN of such deductee”. Form No. 133 is the TCS equivalent, issued after Form No. 143 is processed.
Form No. 132: the PAN-based certificate
A tenant, a property buyer, an individual paying a contractor or professional above Rs 50 lakh, or a VDA buyer who files Form No. 141 downloads Form No. 132 from TRACES once that statement is processed. The FAQ calls it the product of “merging four forms, viz. Forms 16B, 16C, 16D & 16E, into one”. It is due within fifteen days of the Form No. 141 due date.
Duplicates and corrections
- Lost certificate. Rule 215(3) permits a duplicate of Form No. 130, 131 or 133, certified as a duplicate.
- Wrong certificate. The FAQs require the deductor to file a correction statement and, once it is processed, download and issue the corrected certificate. A certificate cannot be edited directly.
- Credit in another person’s name. Rule 203(2) and (4) allow a deductee to declare that the income is assessable in someone else’s hands. The deductor then reports the tax in that person’s name and issues the certificate to him.
Penalty for not issuing
Section 465(2)(g) imposes Rs 500 a day for failing to furnish a certificate under section 395(4), capped at the tax deductible (section 465(3)(b)). This mirrors section 272A(2)(g) of the 1961 Act. The penalty is imposed by the Joint Commissioner (section 465(4)(d)), and section 470 gives a reasonable-cause defence.
The certificate and the deductee’s credit
The certificate is evidence. It is not the basis of the credit. Rule 203(1) gives credit “on the basis of information relating to deduction or collection of tax furnished by the deductor”, that is, the processed statement. Rule 203(8) grants the credit on that information and on the claim in the return, subject to risk-based verification. The Form 130 and 131 FAQs add that the certificate is not attached to the return but is kept for the record. A deductee’s first check is therefore the annual statement, not the certificate (see Reconciling AIS, TIS and Form 26AS). Where tax was deducted but the credit is missing, section 401 (formerly section 205) applies: the assessee “shall not be called upon to pay the tax himself to the extent to which tax has been deducted from that income”.
Summary
- File the quarterly statement or Form No. 141, and wait for it to be processed.
- Log in to TRACES and download Form No. 130, 131, 132 or 133 (Form 16, 16A, 16B to 16E or 27D for periods up to March 2026).
- Sign it digitally or by hand, keeping the control-number log where digital signatures are used.
- Issue it by 15 June (Form No. 130) or within fifteen days of the statement due date (Forms 131, 132, 133).
- Fix errors through a correction statement and then reissue; issue duplicates on request.
The next guide, Lower or Nil Deduction Certificates, turns to the payee’s side: how a recipient reduces or avoids deduction in the first place.