Circular No. 497

What it does

Circulates the new obligation under section 203A, introduced by the Finance Act, 1987 with effect from 1 June 1987, for every person responsible for deducting tax at source to apply for a tax deduction account number and, once allotted, to quote it in challans, tax deduction certificates and periodical returns. The application form, Form No. 49B, and rule 114A were prescribed by Notification No. SO 769(E) dated 12 August 1987. In the metropolitan charges of Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune the allotment work is centralised at the headquarters of the charge. The circular asks that this be brought to the notice of all deductors under the control of the State Government, turf clubs and organisers of lotteries, who should apply to the Income-tax Officer concerned in the prescribed form, with assistance available from that officer or the local Public Relations Officer in the Commissioner's office.

Why it was issued

A new statutory requirement had come into force and the Board wanted deductors, particularly State Government offices, turf clubs and lottery organisers, to apply for the number.

Who it reaches

State Government offices and other Government deductors
Turf clubs deducting on race winnings
Organisers of lotteries
Every other person responsible for deducting tax at source

The provisions it speaks to

Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.

Under the 1961 Act	Now
s.203A	s.397

The instrument, as the Board published it

The words below are the department’s own, reproduced from its published text. Where the department’s copy carried a publisher’s notes after the instrument, those are not reproduced.

SECTION 203A l TAX DEDUCTION ACCOUNT NUMBER
1185. Form of application for allotment of Tax-deduction Account Number prescribed in Form No. 49B
1. The provision of section 203A introduced through the Finance Act, 1987, with effect from 1-6-1987, makes it obligatory for all persons responsible for deducting tax at source to apply for allotment of Tax-deduction Account Number (TAN) and, after obtaining it, quote the same in the challans, TDS certificates, periodical returns, etc. The form of application for allotment of TAN [Form No. 49B] and related rule 114A have already been prescribed vide Notification No. SO 769(E), dated 12-8-1987. In the metropolitan charges of Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, the work of allotment of TAN has been centralised at the headquarters of the charges.
2. This may be brought to the notice of all persons responsible for deduction of tax at source, under the control of the State Government, turf clubs, organisers of lotteries, etc. They may be advised to apply to the concerned Income-tax Officers in the prescribed forms for the allotment of Tax-deduction Account Number. In case any assistance is required the Income-tax Officer concerned or Local Public Relations Officer in the office of the Commissioner may be approached for the same.

Circular : 497 [F. No. 275/119/87-IT(B)], dated 1-10-1987

What to watch

The obligation is two-fold: apply for the number and then quote it on every challan, certificate and return.
Application is on Form No. 49B under rule 114A, and in the eight metropolitan charges named the allotment is handled centrally.
The circular is about obtaining the number; the penal consequences of not doing so lie in the Act itself and are not set out here.
The allotment process has since moved to a centralised electronic system, as the machinery described here shows.

Where you meet it

A challan or certificate rejected for want of a tax deduction account number, or a penalty proceeding for not obtaining one.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 49B

Rules it names. Rule 114A of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The 1962 Rules were replaced by the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which renumbered nearly everything: a rule number quoted here almost never means the same rule today.

On the same provision

Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.

Circular No. 4/2005 — 4/2005 dated 06 04 2005 27 June 2005
Notification No. 294 — Amendment of the Income-tax Rules under section 203A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 8 December 2004
Circular No. 8/2003 — Filing of returns relating to Tax Deduction at Source on computer media 19 September 2003
Circular No. 579 — Financial Year 1990-91 14 September 1990

← Circular No. 498 · Circular No. 496 →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.

What this is