Employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have received tax demand notices from the Income Tax department due to discrepancies in Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) claims. The notices, issued under Section 143(1) of the IT Act, reflect unpaid amounts for Q4 FY24. TCS has assured its employees that the tax authorities will reprocess the returns, and no payment is required until discrepancies are resolved.
TDS Discrepancies Lead to Tax Notices
On September 9, TCS employees across domains received tax notices from the Income Tax department under Section 143(1) of the IT Act. These notices indicated that a portion of their TDS for Q4 FY24 had not been recorded by the department. The amounts demanded in the notices range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,45,000. The notices also included interest and charges for the alleged unpaid amount.
According to one TCS employee, the issue may stem from a system glitch that resulted in TDS claims not being automatically updated on the tax portal. “We had to enter the claims manually, and now we are being asked to pay for the portion the system missed,” the employee explained.
Impact on Income Tax Refunds
The discrepancies in TDS records have delayed income tax refunds for many employees. The preliminary assessment from the Income Tax department has caused concern, with employees fearing further delays in tax refunds until the issues are rectified. Despite the demand notices, TCS has assured its employees that no payments need to be made until the reprocessing is completed by the tax authorities.
TCS Responds to Employee Concerns
In an internal email, TCS informed employees that the discrepancies would be resolved once the tax authorities reprocess the returns. The company explained that the issue lies in syncing the TDS information between Form 26AS (issued by the Income Tax Department) and Form 16 Part A (issued by TCS). Employees were reassured that they would receive a rectification intimation from the tax authorities and are not required to pay the demanded amounts.
Conclusion
TCS employees affected by the TDS discrepancies can expect the issue to be resolved soon, with no immediate payment required. The Income Tax department is expected to reprocess the returns and correct the errors, ensuring that the tax records and refunds are updated accordingly.
