TDS To be deducted at 20% if PAN not furnished From 1St Aptil 2010

W.e.f. 1 April The Budget 2009-10 had made it mandatory for residents and non-residents to quote this number or face a higher rate of withholding tax. It comes into effect from Thursday, April 1.

The idea behind the rule is to encourage more people to obtain PAN, a 10-digit alphanumeric tax payer identification number, and thereby become visible to tax authorities. The tax base of the country is a mere 3.3 crore because of massive underreporting of incomes and large-scale exemptions.

Quoting of PAN will allow income tax authorities to establish an audit trail and catch tax evaders.