Noticing instances of non-remittance of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), the Income Tax department on Thursday said that any failure to
remit the tax would attract serious consequences including prosecution.

The stipulated dates in respect of tax deducted to be remitted to central government were - "if deduction is by or on behalf of government, it should be paid on the same day. If it is credited/ paid during a month, the last date is before 7th of the following month and if it is credited on March 31 - the tax should be remitted within two months i.e. May 31".

The IT department said it was also stepping up TDS inspections to check compliance with TDS provisions and take stringent action against defaulters. According to an official release here, it has come to the notice that a large number of assessees have filed and were filing returns of income without payment of self assessment tax.

For this failure, the assessee would be deemed to be an assessee in default in respect of the unpaid tax or interest or both which is liable for penalty. The defaulting asseessees should immediately pay the taxes due on the returned income to avoid coercive action by the IT department for recovery, it said.