Dividend deduction rule: individual shareholders exempt from TDS when paid by account payee cheque and within a small threshold. Amendment to section 194 provides that no deduction at source shall be made for a shareholder who is an individual if the dividend is paid by an account payee cheque and the amount or aggregate of such dividends in the financial year does not exceed a specified threshold. The provision further exempts the Life Insurance Corporation, the General Insurance Corporation and the four companies formed under the nationalisation scheme, and other insurers, in respect of shares owned by them or in which they have full beneficial interest.