Budget 2020-21 + FINANCE BILL, 2020

Enlarging the scope for tax deduction on interest income under section 194A of the Act.

Section 194A of the Act governs interest other than interest on securities. Sub-section (1) thereof provides that any person not being individual or HUF who is responsible for paying to a resident any income by way of interest other than income by way of interest on securities, shall deduct income-tax at the rates in force.

Sub-section (3) of said section provides for circumstances in which the provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply.

Clause (i) thereof provides the circumstance where the amount of such income or, as the case may be, the aggregate of the amounts of such income credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the financial year by the person to the account of, or to, the payee, does not exceed a certain threshold. Clause (v) provides circumstance to be the income credited or paid by a co-operative society (other than a co-operative bank) to a member or to income credited or paid by a co-operative society to any other co-operative society. Clause (viia) provides circumstance to be the income credited or paid in respect of deposits with a primary agricultural credit society or a primary credit society or a co-operative land mortgage bank or a co-operative land development bank and deposits (other than time deposits) with a co-operative bank other than a co-operative society or bank engaged in carrying on the business of banking.

In order to extend the scope of this section to interest paid by large co-operative society, it is proposed to amend sub-section (3) and insert proviso to provide that a co-operative society referred to in clause (v) or clause (viia) of said sub-section (3) shall be liable to deduct income-tax in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1), if-

(a) the total sales, gross receipts or turnover of the co-operative society exceeds fifty crore rupees during the financial year immediately preceding the financial year in which the interest referred to in sub-section (1) is credited or paid; and

(b) the amount of interest, or the aggregate of the amount of such interest, credited or paid, or is likely to be credited or paid, during the financial year is more than fifty thousand rupees in case of payee being a senior citizen and forty thousand rupees, in any other case.

This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2020.

[Clause 75]

Budget 2020-21 + FINANCE BILL, 2020