Earlier, the tax payments to the Government was pretty difficult –one while deducting the taxes from the assesses at source which was due to multiple tax rates for various items and second- payment of taxes so deducted to the Government which was due to manual entries and errors in manual system. But now with TDS software, the tax deduction at prescribed rates and also online payment of tax returns/ TDS challan has become very simple and easy.
The Income Tax department has designated the National Depository Services Limited (NDSL) as the authority to collect taxes on behalf of the Government. NDSL is the largest depository in India which was incorporated in the year 1996. Since its inception, it has made its presence felt in paperless environment in India with services related to demat of shares, issue of PAN card/ tracking the status of PAN/TAN and many more.
The Tax information Network of this NDSL website makes the online payment of taxes and filing of tax returns a simple task with the click of a mouse. This article gives a brief on how to go about the ways to pay TDS easily:
- 1. Log on to the NDSL website
- 2. Under the e-payment section of the Tax information network, one can view the options to pay taxes
- 3. Select the challan No ----/ITNS 281 under the TDS/TCS drop down menu
- 4. Complete the data in the challan with TIN, PAN and other details as required
- 5. Click on the proceed button
- 6. The screen opens up to next page which allows verification and modification of data
- 7. Once done, click on the “payment to Bank” button
- 8. This page redirects to the payment gateway of the Banks designated for deposit of Taxes
- 9. Proceed to make the payment
- 10. Once done, the system generates a challan copy which should be printed and filed for record purposes.
Payment of taxes on time avoids penalty. Whether it is an individual or a corporate assesse, they should pay taxes on time. The TDS deducted, if any should be deposited with the Government within 7 days from the end of the month in which Tax was deducted at source. After generating the challan, the date and number of the challan should be appropriately mentioned in Form 16 or 16A and issued to the concerned persons. This will enable the filing of returns by those concerned persons on time. This will go a long way in ensuring that neither the person deducting tax nor the assessed is put to avoidable problems of payment of interest and penalties.
After reading the above points, one may wonder why we need the TDS software when the website provides everything. But, one has to notice that the data required to be filled in the challan for online payment of tax has to be kept ready while filing the returns. The use of TDS software makes available the required data all at one place and that too the accurate information which is not possible in manual entries.
