Fellow CA
86871 Points
Joined June 2009
Dear Viral,
As some of the members have correctly pointed out, filing of TDS return in case of NIL deduction is not compulsory. The correct section to arrive at this opinion is 200(3) of the income tax act which is as follows:
"Any person deducting any sum on or after the 1st day of April, 2005 in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Chapter or, as the case may be, any person being an employer referred to in sub-section (1A) of section 192 shall, after paying the tax deducted to the credit of the Central Government within the prescribed time, prepare such statements for such period as may be prescribed and deliver or cause to be delivered to the prescribed income-tax authority or the person authorised by such authority such statement in such form and verified in such manner and setting forth such particulars and within such time as may be prescribed"
As you may deduce from the above, the filing of TDS return is only a consequence of deduction at taxes at source and thus cannot be done in absence of any transaction of tax deduction. However, inadvertent or willful failure in deduction of taxes shall preclude the application of 200(3).