Section 194R TDS – The Second Circular!

Episode Duration:
75 minutes

Episode Background:

It is said that Albert Einstein, arguably one of the best brains that mankind has ever seen, once quoted that the hardest thing in the world to understand is ‘income tax’. Fast forward to recent times, given the dual complexity of Indian tax laws & doing business in India is concerned, a taxpayer has to contend himself with several dimensions of this law which invariably leave him in the position Einstein found himself in. Inevitably, the taxpayer knows he has to comply with the law, but sometimes, simply cannot fathom the ‘correct law’ much less the reasons behind the requirement of the onerous compliance. [Extract culled out from e-book titled, "Demystifying Section 194R" published by The Chamber Of Tax Consultants and Taxsutra]

In this context, the introduction of Section 194R to the Income-tax Act, 1961 by the Finance Act, 2022 is one provision that exemplifies the taxpayer’s arduous plight. Though the TDS provision is intended to ensure effective compliance of substantive law made in 1964, the wordings of the TDS provisions required businesses to have a complete re-look on the manner in which their affairs were arranged. Certain guidelines were issued by the CBDT vide Circular 12 of 2022 dated 16 June 2022 to remove practical difficulties in giving effect to the Section. Thereafter, a second set of Guidelines have been issued by the CBDT vide Circular No 18 of 2022 dated 13 September, 2022. The new Guidelines seek to address certain practical difficulties brought to the notice of the CBDT, and also recommend certain practical approaches that can be taken by businesses to overcome common challenges faced by many taxpayers.

What shall the episode cover?
With an endeavour to bring to you everything under the sun vis-à-vis Sec 194R – viz. news updates, expert articles, webinars, e-book etc., Taxsutra along with its knowledge partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys (L&S), has organized an episode on the theme of "Section 194R TDS – The Second Circular". In this episode, Mr. S. Vasudevan [Executive Partner], Mr. Karanjot Singh Khurana [Joint Partner] & Ms. Shweta Walecha [Director] from L&S have covered the following:
 
Key Highlights -

The episode has covered:

- Critical analysis of the Guidelines issued by the CBDT,
- Interpretational and practical issues resolved by the Guidelines,
- Certain new issues arising out of the Guidelines, and
- Interplay with GST provisions