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Travails of getting tax credit

I am a pensioner aged 82 years. The newly prescribed IT return form gives me some problem. I have a deposit of Rs. 1.50 lakh in a bank. Tax is deducted from the interest income. Form 16A issued by the bank does not contain a column for TAN. This form should not be enclosed to the IT return. How will I get credit for the tax deducted. In my case, even for the last year, refund is due for a year now. IT Form 15H cannot be filed by me because I have income above the exemption limit but that gets reduced by my contribution under Sec. 80C. I also do not know what for Sec. 203(3) has been brought in. How do I get over the problem unless an enclosure is made to the IT return.

Sec. 203(3) dispenses with the need for furnishing TDS certificate for availing tax credit from April 1, 2008, when the new system of automatic credit on the basis of annual report in electronic form filed by the deductor is expected to come into force.

The problem pointed out by the reader will arise for almost all tax payers till the new system operates efficiently. Even now, annexures are not permitted from AY 2006-07, so that filing of TDS certificates along with the return is not obligatory, but will have to be produced, if required. It stands to reason, that tax credit claimed by the assessees in his return will be available.

If TAN (number) is not shown in the certificate, such claim may need appropriate action against the deductor , but the deductee need not lose the credit.

If it is found by the authorities that there is a mismatch between the claim of the assessee and the annual statement furnished by the deductor, action to rectify the same will be taken against the deductor or the claimant of credit depending on the facts. All that can be done by the tax payer is to claim tax credit on the basis of the certificates made available to him.

Another aspect of the new system is the problem for the deductees, where the deductor after making deduction does not either deposit the tax deducted or having deposited does not file the annual statement or such annual statement is faulty in that there is no proper identification of the deductor by way of correct PAN number etc.

The law entitles the deductee to credit for tax deducted at source, whether it is remitted by the deductor or not. The new system does not provide for such a situation. Even in such a situation, the proper course for the Department is to enforce compliance on the deductors and not to deny legitimate claims of the deductees for credit for tax deducted.

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