Rule 333 — Electronic payment of tax, interest, fee and penalty. Made under s.63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Rule 333 gives effect to Section 63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A rule cannot go beyond the section it serves: where the two seem to differ, the section governs.
The rule requires two classes of person to pay electronically. Sub-rule (1) provides that a company, and a person other than a company to whom the provisions of section 63 are applicable, shall pay the tax, interest, fee and penalty electronically on or after the date of commencement of the rule. Sub-rule (2) defines the terms: "pay electronically" means payment by way of the internet banking facility of the authorised bank, or by credit or debit cards; and "tax" has the meaning assigned to it in section 2(106).
Payment through a bank counter leaves the Department dependent on the bank's reporting to know a payment has been made and by whom. Electronic payment records the payer, the head and the amount at the moment of payment. The rule makes it compulsory for the taxpayers whose payments matter most in volume and value — companies, and the persons subject to audit under section 63 — while leaving everyone else free to pay as before.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date from which electronic payment is compulsory | On or after the date of commencement of this rule | Applies to the persons in sub-rule (1)(a) and (b) | Sub-rule (1) |
| Permitted electronic modes | Internet banking facility of the authorised bank, or credit or debit cards | Definition of "pay electronically" | Sub-rule (2)(a) |
The obligation covers four kinds of payment — tax, interest, fee and penalty — so a person within the rule cannot pay tax electronically and a penalty by other means. Who is covered on the non-corporate side is not defined here but borrowed: it is a person to whom the provisions of section 63 are applicable, so the audit thresholds in that section decide the reach of this rule, and a person moving in or out of section 63 moves in or out of this obligation with it. "Pay electronically" is defined narrowly, by two modes only — the internet banking facility of the authorised bank, and credit or debit cards — so the definition, not general usage, settles whether a particular channel answers the rule. "Tax" itself takes the meaning in section 2(106) rather than any wider sense.
A company pays its advance tax, the interest on a shortfall and a penalty for the same year. All three must go through the internet banking facility of the authorised bank or by credit or debit card, because sub-rule (1)(a) covers a company and the obligation extends to tax, interest, fee and penalty alike. An individual whose turnover brings him within section 63 is under the same obligation; one outside section 63 is not covered by this rule.
You meet it at the point of paying any demand or self-assessment amount, in the payment options available to a company or an audited assessee, and in the challan generated on payment.
The following persons shall pay electronically the tax, interest, fee and penalty on or after the date of commencement of this rule
"pay electronically" shall mean, payment by way of— (i) internet banking facility of the authorised bank; or (ii) credit or debit cards