Online gaming withholding applies only to qualifying game winnings, protecting promotional bonuses and unsupported prize-payment disallowances.

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....Section 194B required the applicable threshold to be tested for each payment when made, without annual aggregation of a player's winnings. Player-funded payouts not claimed in the profit and loss account could not attract disallowance, and sponsored-prize disallowance required proof of an identified taxable payment without withholding. Deposit-linked and referral bonuses were promotional incentives rather than game winnings, so no withholding obligation arose. Corporate social responsibility payments otherwise qualifying as donations remained deductible under section 80G notwithstanding exclusion from business-expense deduction under section 37(1); employee stock option plan expenditure remained deductible. Income computation required verification of all subsisting assessment and appellate orders in chronological sequence, with remand for fresh computation.....