CBDT Simplifies Procedure For Issue Of Form Nos. 15H And 15G For TDS Exemption

The CBDT has issued Notification No. 4 /2015 dated 1st of December 2015 by which it has simplified the procedure for Form No.15G & 15H under Section 197A of the Income-tax Act read with Rule 29C of the Income tax Rules.

F.No.: DGIT(S)/CPC(TDS)/DCIT/15GH/2015-16/14425-556
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Central Board of Direct Taxes
Directorate of lncome-tax (Systems) New Delhi.

Notification No. 4 /2015

New Delhi, 1st of December 2015

Subject: Simplification of procedure for Form No.15G & 15H- regarding

Section 197A of the Income tax Act provides for no deduction in certain case by submitting a declaration using Form 15G/15H as laid down in Rule 29C of the Income tax Rules. The manner of filing such declaration and the particulars have been laid down in Rule 29C of the Income tax Rules. The person responsible for paying any income of the nature referred to in sub section (1) or sub section (1A) or sub section (1C) of section 197A {hereinafter called “payer”) shall enable the payee to furnish the declaration in electronic form after due verification through an electronic process. The declarant shall mandatorily quote his/her PAN in the declaration form 15G/H in accordance with the provisions of section 206AA{2)

A unique identification number shall be allotted to declaration (paper /electronic). The payer shall digitize the paper declaration and upload all declarations (including electronic declaration and digitized declaration) received during a particular quarter at departmental site (www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) on quarterly basis. Further, clause 5 of rule 29C provides that the payer shall also furnish transactions covered under 15G/15H declarations in quarterly TDS statement in accordance with the provisions of clause (vii) of sub rule {4) of rule 31A irrespective of the fact that no tax has been deducted in the said quarter.

In exercise of the powers delegated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (Board) under sub para (7) of para 2 of Notification issued vide S.O. No.2663(E) dated 29th September 2015, the Principal Director General of lncome-tax (Systems) hereby specifies the procedure, formats and standards in this regard as under :

1. Furnishing and verification of the electronic declaration:

Rule 29C enables the payer to receive electronic declaration after due verification through an electronic process. The payer shall be responsible for proper verification of the declarant through an electronic process and shall implement the verification process after due diligence to ensure non repudiation of the declarant. The payer shall archive log of all electronic activities in the process of furnishing of electronic declaration and the payer shall be responsible to establish the identity and credentials of the declarant in case of any dispute. The declarant shall mandatorily quote his/her PAN in the declaration form 15G/H in accordance with the provisions of section 206AA{2).

2. Allotment of UIN (Unique Identification Number):

2.1 UIN shall consist of following three fields (a), (b) and (c)

(a) Sequence Number (10 alphanumeric for Form 15G/15H) given as follows;

15G 15H

10 alphanumeric characters starting with G followed by 9 digits(Eg. G000000001) 10 alphanumeric characters starting with H followed by 09 digits (Eg. H000000001)

(b) Financial year for which declaration is being furnished

(c) TAN of the payer

2.2 Paper declaration shall be digitized by the payer and the same shall bear sequence number out of the same”running sequence number (Field ‘a’ of UIN) series”, as used for online submission.

2.3 UIN running sequence number series shall be reset to 1in case of each TAN of the payer at the start of each F.Y.
3. Furnishing or making available the declaration to the income-tax authority:

3.1 The payer will upload, the 15G and 15H declarations (digitized/electronic) received during a quarter, on quarterly basis, in the given file format on the e-filing site ( www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in )

3.2 In addition to the above, the payer shall quote “sequence number” (Field ‘a’ of UIN) in quarterly TDS statement against the transaction covered under 15G/H declaration in accordance with the provisions of clause (vii) of sub rule (4) of rule 31A irrespective of the fact that no tax has been deducted in the said quarter.

4. Reconciliation Mechanism:

4.1 The payer will be responsible for reconciliation of the allotted UINs vis-a vis reported UINs to the lTD through reporting in quarterly TDS statement as well as through upload of declarations on quarterly basis.

4.2 The payer shall file exceptional report for the following UINs: a) UINs not reported in TDS statements b) UINs not uploaded on lTD website. The format of the report will be made available at the departmental website separately.

P.S. Thuingaleng)
Dy. Commissioner of Income Tax (CPC-TDS)
O/o The Pr. Director General of Income-tax (Systems)