Pune: The Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from your salary or any other income must be deposited with the government within a certain specified time period. However, a recent scam worth Rs 3,200 crore in Mumbai, unearthed by the Income Tax (I-T) Department, has highlighted problems faced by many individuals and employees. 

The Pune I-T Department is now also working on the same issue and has found that 147 companies (small and big) have not deposited Rs 98 lakh TDS deducted from their employees between April 2017 and March 2018 (till date).

“The offenders include newly formed IT companies, investment companies, different service providers, etc. We found that when these companies hired employees, they deducted TDS and informed them that they will confirm their job after their performance appraisal. In between, if the employee was not satisfied with the company or if the company was not satisfied, the employee had to leave the company. The company had already deducted their TDS and the employee can show this when they file their returns,” said an official from the I-T Department’s TDS section on condition of anonymity.

The department has initiated recovery action by sending the companies notices and asked them to explain the reasons for the lapse. Also, the department has started inquiries against them like scanning of company bank accounts, attaching their properties, etc, said the source to sakal Times.

According to highly placed officials, this is not a scam.
“The quantum may vary from year to year. This is just like an employer deducts TDS on salary but does not deposit it on time. The next few days should bring more clarity on the matter,” said an officer.