I-T to scan salary slips of top executives for TDS

The Income Tax department has decided to scan the salary structure of top executives of large corporates and PSUs to examine hidden tax opportunities in the perks and reimbursements made to them.

The department, during its recent deliberations with top I-T and CBDT officials, decided to strengthen its Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) obtained from salaries of employees, regime in order to collect more revenue under this category.

The department is particularly bolstered by the fact that a big chunk of 41 per cent, in the total tax collections in the last fiscal, came from the TDS category alone.

During financial year 2012-13, Rs 2,30,188 crore tax was collected under the TDS category while the total direct taxes collections stood at 5,58,970 crore.

The department has tasked its TDS collection offices to focus on the "full salary structure" of top executives of big companies, Public Sector Units and those firms which employ a large workforce.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) also asked its TDS commissioners to check the categorisation of certain employees in these firms as "consultants" and look for taxing opportunities in the allowances, perks and reimbursements made to them.

Not only employers, the department now plans to mount effective vigil to obtain TDS tax from universities and educational institutions which make payments to guest lecturers. Payments made to event managers and to medical transcription companies will also be brought under strict regulation of TDS, a senior I-T official said.

"This will be done under 194J of the I-T Act which deals with fees for technical or professional services," the official said.

The department will also ensure collection Tax Collected at Source (TCS) from buyers of scrap and mineral companies at the rate of 1 per cent while the rate would be 2 per cent in this category for awarding the lease for parking lots and toll plazas.