TDS on under construction property not deducted

• Can late fees be avoided? No, statutory interest and late filing fees under Sections 201 and 234E are automatically calculated by the portal and must be paid alongside the overdue 1% TDS.

• Action required: Immediately file separate Form 26QB statements for each past installment on the Income Tax e-filing portal, pay the applicable tax, interest, and late fees, and subsequently issue Form 16B to the developer.

The expert is right that interest and late fees cannot be avoided, but here is the full picture to help you close this cleanly.

For each of your three installments, you need to file a SEPARATE Form 26QB. You cannot club all three into one filing.

Steps to take now:
1. Go to TRACES portal and file Form 26QB for each installment separately, using the actual payment date of each
2. Pay 1% TDS on the installment amount in each Form 26QB
3. Pay interest under Section 201(1A) at 1.5% per month from the date each installment was paid to today
4. Late fee under Section 234E at Rs 200 per day per installment will also apply (calculated automatically by the portal)
5. After deposit, download Form 16B from TRACES for each and give copies to the developer

The TRACES portal pre-computes interest and late fee when you enter the payment date, so the amount is straightforward.

This [Form 26QB and Section 194-IA guide](https://taxgarden.in/blog/tds-on-property-purchase-section-194-ia-form-26qb-india) covers the step-by-step filing process with screenshots.