Tax Titbits

Abstract

TDS Circulars - Welcome and unwelcome. There is now some reaction from the Central Board of Direct Taxes to the persistent complaint as regards the long delay in response of the Assessing Officers to the applications of certificates of deduction of tax at source at nil or lower rater under section 197 of the Income-tax Act. Instruction No.1 of 2014 dated 15th January, 2014 now commits the Assessing Officers to an outer time limit of one month from the date of receipt of application even as undertaken in the Citizens Charter years before. Taxpayers would also expect that the applications are not routinely found to be untenable, when the request is for nil or lower rate.