Government expects more than 40% of total TDS in 2016-17 to come from Delhi region

New Delhi: More than 40 percent of tax collection, that is Rs 46,739 crore, is expected to come through TDS from the Delhi region in the current fiscal, a senior tax official said today.

"There are region-wise targets. Our target as on date is Rs 46,739 crore for the year, which is allocated to TDS (tax deduction at source) out of the Rs 1,15,000 crore overall target (for the Delhi region).

So, you can imagine how important is TDS," Chief Commissioner of Income Tax-TDS, Nutan Sharma said on the sidelines of an industry event here.

She delivered the inaugural address at a seminar on 'Tax Deduction at Source' organised by an industry body here.

The top tax official noted that TDS collection has risen very fast over the last few years and it is one of the main sources of tax collection.

"Everyone knows from top to bottom that TDS is our main source of collection. It is main source of our revenue not only in direct taxes, but in the overall collection of the government," Sharma said in her address.

For the Delhi region, the tax department has been witnessing a consistent growth of 14-15 per cent in TDS collection since restructuring of the department in 2014.

"Insofar as Delhi is concerned, TDS is a very big source of revenue collection and 45 per cent of the entire collection of Delhi comes through TDS," she added.

Pointing to difficulties faced by deductors in TDS collection, the chief commissioner assured the audience that the government is trying to improve the system.

"We are trying to bring most of the things under the TDS net and that is to facilitate taxpayers only and make them more compliant also. We have been revising it, considering wherever rates are higher and are lowering it. Wherever some more items have to be brought under TDS, we are doing that," Sharma said.

She disclosed that all these efforts are paying off as tax payers are becoming more compliant.

In the same vein, she spoke of the need for tax officials to take stern action in cases of default as "the government can't forgo the taxes".

"In a developing country like India, we can't afford that. The taxes which are needed today have to come today only," Sharma made it clear.