A short-deduction demand on purchase of immovable property was...

A short-deduction demand on purchase of immovable property was held unsustainable where the seller's PAN was later regularised through Aadhaar linkage within the CBDT circular period, so the higher TDS rate for an inoperative PAN did not apply and the related demand under section 200A had to be deleted. Independently, the proviso to section 201(1) protected the deductor because the seller had filed the return, declared the capital gains, and paid tax on the transaction, so the deductor could not be treated as an assessee-in-default. The Tribunal also noted that similar relief had already been granted in the co-owner's case.

---