Presently Income Tax Department provides two types of numbers namely Permanent Account Number -PAN, and Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number -TAN. While PAN is to be obtained for every tax-payer, TAN is a special number required only by those responsible for Tax Deducted at Source -TDS. Those required to obtain TAN number have to go through cumbersome procedure of filing TDS returns every quarter even though tax is deducted at source only say once in a complete year. Moreover there can be cases where TDS provision may required to be used only once in several years. It troubles very much to such TAN holders who are unnecessarily compelled to file TDS returns as nil every quarter. Even Income Tax Department has to spend much on staff and other overheads for managing those registered under TAN, and to process TDS returns filed as nil.
Income Tax Department should abolish requirement for having TAN number by assesses requiring to deduct tax at source. PAN-holders may file TDS returns on basis of their PAN-numbers only in the quarter where tax is deducted at source. Rather filing of TDS returns on monthly basis can be implemented but only when tax is deducted at source in a particular month. Since TDS accounts for big proportion of total revenue collected through Income Tax, Income Tax Department will be beneficial to get TDS on monthly basis rather than leaving it with assesses for a complete quarter.
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL