Centralized processing of withholding statements enables automated determination and intimation of amounts payable or refundable.
Centralized processing creates an automated, unified mechanism for TDS and TCS statements, including correction statements, requiring rectification of arithmetical errors and apparent incorrect claims, computation of interest and fees on adjusted amounts, adjustment against prior payments, issuance of an intimation within one year from the end of the tax year, and grant of refunds; the Board may establish a centralized processing scheme and must address interpretive gaps such as the undefined scope of "incorrect claim apparent" and the tax year/financial year distinction.

Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number mandated for deductors and collectors to enhance tracking and reporting under the new bill
Clause 397(1) requires every person responsible for deducting or collecting tax to apply for and, when allotted, quote a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TDCAN) in all prescribed TDS/TCS documents; it prevents duplication, allows prescribed timelines and forms, and provides targeted exemptions including notified persons and categories cross referenced to other provisions.

Deemed assessee in default: consolidated TDS/TCS consequences including interest, asset charge, and conditional relief.
Clause 398 deems persons required to deduct or collect tax who fail to deduct, collect, or remit to be assessee in default, subject to interest, recovery and a statutory charge on assets. A conditional exception applies where the payee has reported and paid the income tax and an accountant's certificate in the prescribed form is furnished; interest is bifurcated between pre-collection and post-collection periods and must be paid before filing the relevant statement. The clause sets a limitation period for default orders and requires satisfaction of good and sufficient reasons before penalties are imposed.

TDS/TCS reporting modernization: unified mandates for remittance, verified statements, non-resident reporting and six-year corrections.
Clause 397(3) mandates that every person responsible for deduction or collection, including employers and designated government officers, remit deducted or collected tax to the Central Government within prescribed timelines and furnish verified statements in prescribed forms; it requires the prescribed authority to issue statements to buyers/licensors/lessees, mandates reporting of payments to non-residents irrespective of taxability, recognises a six-year correction window for statement amendments, compels specified financial institutions to file statements for certain payments, and preserves liability where tax collection fails.

Lower TCS certificates permit reduced collection when taxpayer income justifies it, with mandatory certified issuance and electronic processes.
Clause 395(3) permits buyers, licensees or lessees to apply to the Assessing Officer for collection of tax at a lower rate where the AO is satisfied that the applicant's total income justifies lower collection; the AO issues a certificate specifying the reduced rate and validity, subject to rules and to cancellation after hearing. Clause 395(4) requires every person deducting or collecting tax to issue a certificate to the deductee or collectee specifying the amount, rate and other prescribed particulars within prescribed timelines, with electronic issuance anticipated.

Tax collection at source: consolidated TCS framework aligns rates, preserves declaration exemptions and prevents double collection.
Clause 394 consolidates TCS rules into a table specifying liable collectors, receipt categories, tiered rates and timing (earlier of debit or payment), retains a declaration based exemption for residents using goods for manufacturing/processing/production or power generation with prescribed duplicate filings and reporting, incorporates anti overlap safeguards preventing double collection on remittance and tour package transactions, and adopts existing definitions for forest produce while omitting certain granular definitions and the lower/nil TCS certificate mechanism pending further rulemaking.

PAN furnishing requirement: higher withholding rates apply where PAN is not provided, with specified carve-outs for non-residents.
Clause 397(2) requires recipients and payers of amounts subject to TDS/TCS to furnish and quote a valid PAN; failure to do so triggers withholding or collection at enhanced statutory rates, invalidates declarations or applications for lower or nil deduction absent PAN, and mandates PAN disclosure in all transactional documents, while providing specified exemptions for certain non-residents and a cap on TDS for rent in defined cases.

TDS/TCS reporting obligations expanded: mandatory electronic payment, verified statements, correction window and liability for non-collection.
Clause 397(3) requires prompt payment of tax deducted or collected to the Central Government and the furnishing of verified statements in prescribed forms and manner. It expands reporting to include payments to non-residents, special procedures for government remittances without challans, and interest payments below thresholds by specified entities. The clause permits correction statements within six years and imposes liability to pay where tax is not collected, while delegating operational details to prescribed authorities and mandating electronic filing and verification.

Bar against direct demand protects assessees from paying tax already deducted at source, placing recovery obligations on the deductor.
A statutory bar prevents authorities from calling an assessee to pay tax to the extent tax has been deducted at source: Clause 401 of the 2025 Bill mirrors Section 205 of the 1961 Act by protecting the assessee where tax was actually deducted, limiting liability "to the extent" of deduction and leaving recovery, penalties, and prosecution against the deductor for any non deposit.

Person responsible for paying: allocation of TDS/TCS duties to payers, principal officers, authorised remitters and government payors.
Clause 402(27) designates the person responsible for paying for TDS/TCS according to payment type and payer status: employers (and company principal officers) for salaries; payers (and company principal officers) for interest and other chargeable sums; authorised persons for remittances to NRIs; payers for reporting payments to non-residents irrespective of chargeability; and drawing and disbursing officers (or the actual payor) for government payments, with cross-references to FEMA and updated agent definitions.

TDCAN requirement modernisation centralises TAN/PAN linkage and reporting, tightening compliance and correction procedures.
Clause 397 requires persons deducting or collecting tax to apply for and, once allotted, quote a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TDCAN) in all prescribed documents; it consolidates deduction and collection numbers, sets out statutory carve-outs and government-notified exemptions, integrates PAN linkage and consequences for non-furnishing, and centralises payment, reporting and correction mechanisms including procedures for non-resident payments and government offices.

TDS/TCS certificate obligation requires deductors and collectors to issue prescribed certificates enabling tax credit and digital reporting.
Clause 395(4) requires every person deducting or collecting tax at source to issue a certificate to the deductee/collectee specifying the amount of tax deducted or collected, the rate, and any other prescribed particulars within a prescribed period; employers who pay tax on behalf of employees must similarly furnish a certificate confirming payment to the Central Government. The clause covers both TDS and TCS, delegates format and timing to subordinate rules, and anticipates digital and harmonized implementation while leaving rectification, duplicate issuance and penalty mechanics to rules.

Non-exclusivity of source-based tax collection allows authorities to pursue additional recovery methods when payments are provisional.
Clause 390(4) states that taxes paid by deduction or collection at source, advance payments and specified payments operate in addition to any other mode of tax collection to discharge the liability for income assessed for a tax year, preserving the tax authority's power to pursue alternative recovery measures where such anticipatory payments are provisional, insufficient, or incorrect while allowing credit or refund for any excess.

TDS/TCS enforcement: deeming of defaulting deductors as assessees in default triggers interest, charge on assets, and conditioned relief.
Clause 398 deems persons required to deduct or collect tax, including principal officers and specified collectors, to be an assessee in default where tax is not deducted, not collected, or not paid to the government; relief is available if the recipient files a return, includes the relevant sum, pays the tax due and the deductor/collector furnishes a prescribed accountant's certificate. Interest is prescribed for the periods between deductibility, deduction and payment, unpaid tax plus interest is a statutory charge on assets, time limits for default orders are specified, and penalty requires satisfaction of lack of good and sufficient reasons.

Centralised TDS/TCS processing: automated, time bound framework mandates intimation within a year and covers correction statements.
Clause 399 creates an automated framework for processing TDS and TCS statements, including correction statements, requiring rectification of arithmetical errors and adjustment of apparent incorrect claims, computation of interest and fee, determination of net payable or refundable amounts after adjusting prior payments, issuance of a formal intimation to the deductor/collector, and grant of any refund due; it also mandates that intimations be sent within a year from the end of the tax year and empowers the Board to make a centralised processing scheme.

TDS/TCS compliance: expanded reporting and verified statement obligations, including cross-border and below-threshold payment reporting.
Clause 397(3) requires persons responsible for deduction or collection of tax, and certain employers, to pay amounts to the credit of the Central Government within prescribed time and to submit verified statements in prescribed form and manner; it mandates reporting of payments to non-residents whether or not chargeable, requires special statements for government payments without challans, permits correction statements within six years, obliges reporting of below-threshold interest payments by specified entities, and makes collectors who fail to collect liable to pay the tax.

Tax credit for source deductions ensures remitted taxes are treated as payment on behalf of the relevant taxpayer and allocated by rule.
Clause 390(5) treats sums remitted as tax paid on behalf of the person from or in respect of whose income such tax was deducted or collected, and Clause 390(6) empowers the Board to make rules for allocating that credit to such persons or to others and for specifying the tax year for which credit is allowed, extending the scope beyond conventional TDS/TCS to include specified pre-payments and leaving operational detail to subordinate rules.

Tax deducted is income received: gross receipts included for tax computation with credit for foreign withholding.
Clause 396 deems amounts deducted under the relevant withholding chapter and income tax deducted abroad (where credit is allowed) to be income received for computing an assessee's taxable income, with specified carve out exceptions; this preserves gross income inclusion while permitting credit for taxes withheld and raises interpretative issues about the chapter's scope, the stated exceptions, cross border withholding and transitional treatment.

TDS nil-declaration prevents withholding when estimated total income is below taxable threshold, subject to prescribed declaration and reporting.
Clause 393(6) permits certain recipients to avoid TDS by furnishing a prescribed written declaration that their estimated total income for the year yields nil tax; upon a valid declaration the payer must not deduct tax on specified payments and must forward a copy to tax authorities, subject to the condition that aggregate such incomes do not exceed the basic exemption limit and to general anti evasion consequences for false declarations.

Lower Deduction Certificates: streamlined TDS/TCS certification requiring AO satisfaction and binding certificate rates.
Clause 395(1) creates a mechanism for Lower Deduction Certificates allowing taxpayers to apply for lower or nil deduction of tax at source; the Assessing Officer must issue a certificate when satisfied on objective material, the deductor must apply the specified rate until the certificate's validity, and procedural details, scope, validity periods and ancillary measures are to be provided by rules.