​​Meaning of TAN

Tax Deduction Account Number is a 10-digit alphanumeric number issued by the Income-tax Department (herein after referred to as ‘TAN’). TAN is required to be obtained by all persons who are responsible to deduct tax at source (‘TDS’) except in case of a person who is responsible to deduct tax at source under Section 194-IA/Section 194-IB/Section 194M.

Given below is an illustrative TAN:

DELM12345L

First 3 alphabets of TAN represent the jurisdiction code, 4th alphabet is the initial of the name of the TAN holder. The next 5 digits of the TAN are system generated numbers between 00001 to 99999 and last character, i.e., the tenth character is an alphabetic check digit.

Persons liable to apply for TAN

Every person who is liable to deduct tax at source is required to obtain TAN. However, a person who is required to deduct tax under Section 194-IA/Section 194-IB/Section 194M​ can use PAN in place of TAN as he is not required to obtain TAN.

Relevance of TAN

It is mandatory to quote TAN in following documents:

• (a) TDS statements i.e. return
• (b) Challans for payment of TDS
• (c) TDS certificates
• (d) Other documents as may be prescribed

Penalty

If a person fails to apply for TAN or failed to quote or quotes incorrect TAN in the above specified documents, a penalty of Rs. 10,000 shall be levied.

Procedure to obtain TAN

An application for allotment of TAN shall be made in duplicate in Form No. 49B at any TIN Facilitation Centers (TIN-FC). Addresses of TIN-FCs are available at NSDL-TIN website. Alternatively, one can apply for TAN online at the NSDL-TIN website.

Charges for obtaining a TAN

A fee of Rs. 65 (Rs. 55 application charge + 18% GST) should be paid as processing fee while submitting application for TAN.