Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number

Under Section 272BB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, failure to apply for a TAN, or failure to quote TAN in prescribed documents, challans, or returns attracts a mandatory penalty of ₹10,000.

TAN acts as the primary tracking mechanism for tax deducted and collected at source across all eligible business entities and individual deductors. Unless an exemption applies under Sections 194-IA, 194-IB, or 194-M where PAN is permitted, obtaining TAN through Form 49B on the Protean or UTIITSL portal is mandatory to file returns, deposit challans, issue certificates, and avoid the statutory ₹10,000 penalty under Section 272BB