The Indian Income Tax Act provides for chargeability of tax on the total income of a person on an annual basis. The quantum of tax determined as per the statutory provisions is payable as:
- Advance Tax
- Self Assessment Tax
- Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)
- Tax Collected at Source (TCS)
Tax deducted at source (TDS) and Tax collection at source (TCS), as the very names imply aim at collection of revenue at the very source of income. It is essentially an indirect method of collecting tax which combines the concepts of “pay as you earn” and “collect as it is being earned.” Its significance to the government lies in the fact that it prepones the collection of tax, ensures a regular source of revenue, provides for a greater reach and wider base for tax. At the same time, to the tax payer, it distributes the incidence of tax and provides for a simple and convenient mode of payment.
The concept of TDS requires that the person on whom responsibility has been cast, is to deduct tax at the appropriate rates, from payments of specific nature which are being made to a specified recipient. The deducted sum is required to be deposited to the credit of the Central Government. The recipient from whose income, tax has been deducted at source, gets the credit of the amount deducted in his personal assessment on the basis of the certificate issued by the deductor.
