Imagine you're running Rajesh & Co. Pvt. Ltd. and you pay ₹5 lakhs to a contractor but forget to deduct TDS. Or you deduct TDS but then forget to deposit it with the government. Section 201 is the law that says: both situations have consequences, and here's exactly what those consequences are.
Assessee in Default is the key label here. The moment you fail to deduct TDS, or deduct it but don't pay it over, you become an "assessee in default" — meaning the tax department can chase you for the tax as if it were your own liability. But there's a useful escape hatch: if the person you were supposed to deduct from (a resident) has already filed their return, included that income, and paid the tax on it — and you get a certificate from a Chartered Accountant confirming this — you are not treated as an assessee in default. The payee saved you!
Now for the money part — Interest under Section 201(1A) is where it really hurts and where exams love to test you. Two rates apply: 1% per month (or part of month) from the date TDS was deductible to the date it was actually deducted; and 1.5% per month (or part of month) from the date it was deducted to the date it was actually paid to the government. Think of the first rate as "you didn't even deduct" interest, and the second as "you deducted but sat on the money" interest. Both can apply simultaneously if you partially deducted late and paid even later. One more key rule: once the tax is deducted but not paid, it becomes a charge on all assets of the deductor — like a lien on the company's property. Finally, there's a 7-year time limit — no order can be passed after 7 years from the end of the FY in which payment was made or credit was given.
Example 1: Late Deduction + Late Payment
Rajesh & Co. Pvt. Ltd. credited ₹10,00,000 to a contractor on 1 June 2024 (TDS should have been deducted @10% = ₹1,00,000). They actually deducted TDS on 1 August 2024 and deposited it on 1 October 2024.
Step 1 — Interest @ 1% (deductible → deducted)
Period: 1 June 2024 to 1 August 2024 = 3 months (June, July, August — each month or part counts)
Interest = ₹1,00,000 × 1% × 3 = ₹3,000
Step 2 — Interest @ 1.5% (deducted → paid)
Period: 1 August 2024 to 1 October 2024 = 3 months (August, September, October)
Interest = ₹1,00,000 × 1.5% × 3 = ₹4,500
Total Interest = ₹3,000 + ₹4,500 = ₹7,500
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Example 2: Escape via Payee's Return (Proviso)
Ms. Iyer's company pays ₹2,00,000 as rent to Mr. Sharma (resident) in March 2024 without deducting TDS @10% (₹20,000). Mr. Sharma files his ITR for AY 2024-25, includes this rent income, and pays the full tax. Ms. Iyer obtains a CA certificate confirming this.
Result: Ms. Iyer is NOT treated as assessee in default for the ₹20,000 TDS. However, interest @ 1% under clause (i) is still payable — from the date TDS was deductible (March 2024) to the date Mr. Sharma filed his return (say, 31 July 2024) = 5 months.
Interest = ₹20,000 × 1% × 5 = ₹1,000 still payable (penalty u/s 221 is waived, but interest is not).
📖 Bare Act text — Section 201, Income Tax Act 1961
(click to expand)
(1) Where any person, including the principal officer of a company,—
(a) who is required to deduct any sum in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or
(b) referred to in sub-section (1A) of section 192, being an employer,
does not deduct, or does not pay, or after so deducting fails to pay, the whole or any part of the tax, as required by or under this Act, then, such person, shall, without prejudice to any other consequences which he may incur, be deemed to be an assessee in default in respect of such tax:
Provided that any person, including the principal officer of a company, who fails to deduct the whole or any part of the tax in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter on the sum paid to a resident or on the sum credited to the account of a resident shall not be deemed to be an assessee in default in respect of such tax if such resident—
(i) has furnished his return of income under section 139;
(ii) has taken into account such sum for computing income in such return of income; and
(iii) has paid the tax due on the income declared by him in such return of income,
and the person furnishes a certificate to this effect from an accountant in such form as may be prescribed:
Provided further that no penalty shall be charged under section 221 from such person, unless the Assessing Officer is satisfied that such person, without good and sufficient reasons, has failed to deduct and pay such tax.
(1A) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), if any such person, principal officer or company as is referred to in that sub-section does not deduct the whole or any part of the tax or after deducting fails to pay the tax as required by or under this Act, he or it shall be liable to pay simple interest,—
(i) at one per cent for every month or part of a month on the amount of such tax from the date on which such tax was deductible to the date on which such tax is deducted; and
(ii) at one and one-half per cent for every month or part of a month on the amount of such tax from the date on which such tax was deducted to the date on which such tax is actually paid,
and such interest shall be paid before furnishing the statement in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 200:
Provided that in case any person, including the principal officer of a company fails to deduct the whole or any part of the tax in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter on the sum paid to a resident or on the sum credited to the account of a resident but is not deemed to be an assessee in default under the first proviso to sub-section (1), the interest under clause (i) shall be payable from the date on which such tax was deductible to the date of furnishing of return of income by such resident.
(2) Where the tax has not been paid as aforesaid after it is deducted, the amount of the tax together with the amount of simple interest thereon referred to in sub-section (1A) shall be a charge upon all the assets of the person, or the company, as the case may be, referred to in sub-section (1).
(3) No order shall be made under sub-section (1) deeming a person to be an assessee in default for failure to deduct the whole or any part of the tax from a person resident in India, at any time after the expiry of seven years from the end of the financial year in which payment is made or credit is given.
(4) The provisions of sub-clause (ii) of sub-section (3) of section 153 and of Explanation 1 to section 153 shall, so far as may, apply to the time limit prescribed in sub-section (3).
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the expression "accountant" shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Explanation to sub-section (2) of section 288.