Don't have a PAN card? Bear 20% TDS

From April 1, you will have to bear tax deducted at source (TDS) of 20% if you don’t show your permanent account number (PAN) for payments /remittances liable to TDS. The Union ministry of finance said this in a press release on Wednesday. This follows the annual finance bill presented by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on July 6, 2009.

What does this mean for you? Let’s say you are in the contracting business. The person giving you the contract has to, as per law (Section 194C of the Income Tax Act), deduct 1% tax while making you the payment for executing the contract. From April 1, if you do not declare your PAN for this transaction, the payment being made to you will attract a tax of 20%.

Similar is the case with commission or brokerage (excluding insurance commission) where the person making the payment has to deduct a tax of 10% (Section 194 H). If the person receiving the commission does not present his PAN, a TDS of 20% will be charged.

Take the case of rent on machinery or plant or equipment, which attract a TDS of 2% while rent on land or building (including factory building) are liable for a TDS of 10%. Without PAN, this will shoot up to 20%.

The rate will apply to all cases where taxes have to be deducted at source and no PAN number is given by the income receiver. This is a clear move by the government to control the amount of black money in the economy and get more people under the tax ambit, feel experts.