New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) The government has done away with the 1 per cent tax on cash payments of over ₹ 2 lakh for purchase of any goods or service after it banned cash dealings above that limit from April 1.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget for 2016-17, had provided for the seller to collect tax at the rate of 1 per cent from the purchaser on sale in cash of any goods or offering any services exceeding ₹ 2 lakh.

Tax collection at source (TCS) limit for cash purchase of bullion was kept at ₹ 2 lakh, but for jewellery, it was fixed at ₹ 5 lakh.

However, in the Budget 2017-18, presented last month, he brought in a new provision banning cash transaction above ₹ 3 lakh. This cap was lowered to ₹ 2 lakh through an amendment.

To reconcile the two provisions, the tax at source on goods and services, including jewellery, has now been removed through an amendment to the Finance Bill, 2017.

The amendment, along with other changes, were approved by the Lok Sabha yesterday.

The amendment scrapped sub-sections (1D) and (1E) from Section 206C with respect to TCS.

Official sources said Section 206C(1D) was inserted through the Finance Act, 2016, expanding the scope of Section 206C to include in its ambit cash-sale of goods and services exceeding ₹ 2 lakh.

In the latest Budget, Jaitley made cash transactions above ₹ 2 lakh punishable by a fine of an equivalent amount.

The fine is to be paid by receiver of cash.

The income tax department has been levying 1 per cent TCS on cash purchase of bullion in excess of ₹ 2 lakh and jewellery upwards of ₹ 5 lakh since July 1, 2012.

However, the Budget for 2016-17 had imposed TCS of 1 per cent on goods and services purchased in cash over ₹ 2 lakh.

Tax collection at source removed: TCS on high-value cash purchases eliminated after cash-transaction cap and amendment. The government repealed the tax collection at source expansion that required sellers to collect TCS on cash sales exceeding the cash-transaction threshold, removing the seller's TCS collection obligation on such high-value cash purchases and aligning TCS rules with the statutory prohibition on large cash dealings.