TDS liability on rent of disputed property

[N R CONSULTING N R CONSULTING]

A limited company is running from rented premises whose ownership is disputed and matter is lying in court. Hence the company has not paid any rent as the actual landlord is yet to be decided.However, it has created the provision for rent payable.Under such circumstances, the company has till now not deposited any TDS on rent, because it is unsure of the landlord and his corresponding PAN against which the TDS will be deposited. What measure the company can take to stop disallowance of 'provision for rent expenditure '

[CAGOPALJI AGRAWAL]

Since the identity of the person is not ascertainable, a help can be drawn from the precedence held in the matter of IDBI Vs ITO[2006]104TTJ230 Mum. 

[N R CONSULTING N R CONSULTING]

Sir, Thanks for the valuable update.

AI Summary

TDS liability on rent where landlord is unascertainable may be managed by relying on precedent to avoid disallowance. A company occupying disputed rented premises created a provision for rent but did not deposit TDS because the landlord and PAN are unascertainable. Where a payee's identity cannot be determined, reliance on precedent recognizing non-ascertainability as a barrier to depositing TDS against a specific PAN may be used to resist disallowance, supported by documentation of the dispute and accounting of the provision.