Circular No. 8/2003

Filing of returns relating to Tax Deduction at Source on computer media

What this is

Circular No. 8/2003 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 19 September 2003. Its subject is Filing of returns relating to Tax Deduction at Source on computer media.

What it does

Lays down what a deductor must ensure when filing a tax deduction at source return on computer media, following the amendment of section 206 by the Finance Act, 2003 making such filing mandatory for principal officers of companies. Five checks are prescribed: Form No. 27A completed in all columns, verified and enclosed in paper form with the media; the tax deduction account number shown in Form No. 27A and in the return, as section 203A(2) requires; the bank deposit particulars correctly filled at item 6 of Form No. 24 or item 5 of Form No. 26 or Form No. 27; the data structure conforming to that prescribed by the e-filing administrator under the Electronic Filing of Returns of Tax deducted at Source Scheme, 2003 notified by S.O. No. 974(E) dated 26 August 2003; and the control totals in Form No. 27A tallying with the return. A corrupted media, or one failing any of these, is returned to the deductor for correction and resubmission.

Why it was issued

The Board framed the scheme under the power section 206 gave it and wanted returns filed on computer media to conform to the required specifications.

Who it reaches

Principal officers of companies filing TDS returns on computer media
Deductors filing Form No. 24, Form No. 26 or Form No. 27 electronically
Persons preparing the accompanying Form No. 27A

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
s.206	no counterpart recorded

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.

Filing of returns relating to Tax Deduction at Source on computer media
1. Finance Act, 2003 has amended section 206 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 with a view to provide for mandatory filing of returns relating to tax deduction at source by principal officers of companies responsible for deducting tax on computer media. For this purpose, the Board has been empowered to notify an appropriate scheme in the Official Gazette.
2. Pursuant to this, rule 37B of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 has been amended to provide that where a person responsible for deducting tax under Chapter XVIIB is required to file a return or statement referred to in rule 37 or 37A on a computer media, he shall deliver or cause to be delivered the same in accordance with such scheme as may be specified by the Board. It has been further provided in rule 37B that the return or statement filed on computer media shall contain all the information required under rule 37 or rule 37A, as the case may be.
3. The forms of TDS returns prescribed under rules 37 and 37A have also been amended and notified vide S.O. No. 878(E) and S.O. No. 877(E), dated 31-7-2003 respectively.
4. The Board has, under the powers conferred by section 206 of the Income-tax Act, framed and notified the "Electronic Filing of Returns of Tax deducted at Source Scheme, 2003", vide S.O. No. 974(E), dated 26-8-2003.
5. With a view to ensure that the TDS returns filed on computer media conform to the required specifications, the person responsible for deduction of tax at source and filing of TDS return on computer media shall ensure the following:
(i) Form No. 27A is duly filled in all columns, verified and enclosed in paper format with the return on computer media.
(ii) Tax deduction account number (TAN) of the person responsible for deducting tax at source is clearly mentioned in Form No. 27A as also in the TDS return, as required by sub-section (2) of section 203A of the Income-tax Act.
(iii) The particulars relating to deposit of tax at source in the bank are correctly and properly filled in the table at item No. 6 of Form No. 24 or item No. 5 of Form No. 26 or item No. 5 of Form No. 27, as the case may be.
(iv) The data structure of the return for tax deduction at source in Form No. 24 or Form No. 26 or Form No. 27 prepared on computer readable media conforms to the data structure prescribed by the e-filing administrator authorised under the scheme for electronic filing of TDS returns notified by the Board vide S.O. No. 974(E), dated 26-8-2003.
(v) The Control Totals of the amount paid and the tax deducted at source as mentioned at item No. 3 of Form No. 27A tally with the corresponding totals in the return for tax deduction at source in Form No. 24 or Form No. 26 or Form No. 27, as the case may be.
6. In case the return on the computer readable media is found to be corrupted or does not fulfil any of the above guidelines, the computer readable media shall be returned to the deductor for appropriate correction and resubmission.
7. The guidelines relating to filing of returns relating to tax deduction at source on computer media laid down in Board’s earlier Circular No. 797, dated 10.10.2000 shall stand modified to the above extent.
Circular : No. 8/2003, dated 19-9-2003.

What to watch

A return returned as corrupted or non-conforming is not treated as filed, so the resubmission date is what counts.
It modifies to this extent the guidelines in the Board's earlier circular No. 797 dated 10 October 2000.
The forms and rules it works on - rules 37 and 37B, Form No. 24, Form No. 26 and Form No. 27 as notified by S.O. Nos. 877(E) and 878(E) dated 31 July 2003 - have since been replaced by the quarterly statement regime, so the mechanics described here belong to the 2003 forms.
The control totals check is the one most often failed in practice, since Form No. 27A is prepared separately from the media.

Where you meet it

When a TDS return on computer media is rejected at the receiving counter, or in a penalty proceeding for failure to furnish the return in the prescribed manner.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 24, Form No. 26, Form No. 27, Form No. 27A

Rules it names. Rule 37, 37A, 37B 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. 579 — Financial Year 1990-91 14 September 1990
Circular No. 497 — Section 203A l TAX Deduction Account Number 1 October 1987
Press Release, dated 26-12-2012 — Frequently Asked Tax Questions by Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs)1 26 December 2012
Notification No. 209 — A notification under section 206 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 11 August 2006

← Circular No. 9/2003 · Circular No. 7/2003 →

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.