1. Background of Challan ITNS 281

In 2004, the manual process of collection of taxes was replaced with the Online Tax Accounting System (OLTAS). It was introduced with an intention to minimise human intervention thereby reducing errors and facilitating  online transmission of details of tax collected, deposited, refund, etc. OLTAS issues a single copy of a Challan and enables taxpayers to track the status of their challans or e-challan deposited in banks online. There are three types of Challans which are issued:

• Challan ITNS 280 – issued for depositing income tax (includes self-assessment tax, advance tax, tax on regular assessment)
• Challan ITNS 281 – issued for depositing Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS)
• Challan ITNS 282 – issued for depositing gift tax, wealth tax, Securities Transaction Tax (STT) and other direct taxes

2. Compliance for Challan ITNS 281

Challan ITNS 281 is issued, when the taxpayer deposits TDS and TCS. Therefore, it has to comply with the timelines laid out for deducting and depositing tax.

Due dates for payment of TDS

TDS deducted on payments (excluding purchase of property): 7th of the subsequent month
TDS deducted on purchase of property: 30th of the subsequent month
TDS deducted in the month of March: 30th April

In case of delay in deposit of tax an interest is levied at the rate of 1.5% per month or part of the month from the date of deduction.

3. Process of Filing Challan ITNS 281

There are two processes for filing Challan ITNS 281

• Online process
• Offline process

Online Process

Go to the tin-nsdl website and select Challan No./ ITNS 281. At the time of payment of taxes the following details have to be filled in Challan ITNS 281.

i. Select the Deductees
Select the appropriate deductee i.e. on whose behalf the payment has been deducted. There are two options:

• 0020: Company deductees
• 0021: Non-company deductees

ii. Assessment Year (AY)
The relevant AY for which the payment is being made. As an example,If the payment is made on 30th June 2017 (i.e. relating to FY 2017-18), the relevant AY will be 2018-19

iii. Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN)
TAN is 10-digit alphanumeric number issued to the persons who are required to deduct or collect tax.

iv. Type of Payment

• 200: should be selected if the TDS/ TCS is a regular transaction
• 400: should be selected if the payment is being made for a demand raised by the income tax authorities.

v. Nature of Payment
The section under which TDS/TCS has been deducted has to be selected from the drop down list.

vi. Details of Payment
Enter the income tax, surcharge and late filing fees (if applicable). also needs to be entered along with the date and bank branch.

Post filling in all the details, click on submit to bank and you will be redirected to your bank’s portal to process the payment. Once the transaction is successfully processed, a challan counterfoil shall be displayed containing the CIN No., payment details, and bank name through which e-payment has been made.

Offline Process

For the offline process, the taxpayer can make the payment by personally visiting the bank and submitting a challan. A note has to be taken that the payment can be made via cheque or cash. On submission of the challan, bank will issue a counterfoil/ receipt back stamped as a proof of submission.

4. Process to Check the status of Challan ITNS 281

For the taxpayers to check the status of the Challan online, you can go to the tin-nsdl portal. There are two modes to view the status:

• CIN based view
• TAN based view

To view the status through the CIN based mode, enter the following details from your challan:
i. BSR code
ii. Challan date
iii. Challan serial number
iv. Amount

To view the status through the TAN based mode, enter the following details from your challan:
i. TAN
ii. Challan date