Penalties Section 276B — Prosecution for TDS Deducted But Not Deposited
Section 276B — Prosecution for TDS Deducted But Not Deposited
Income Tax Act 1961 — 276B
Rigorous imprisonment 3 months to 7 years plus fine — for failure to deposit deducted TDS to government.
The Penalty
Rigorous imprisonment 3 months–7 years + fine
- Cap
- 7 years imprisonment
- Calculation base
- Not monetary — criminal prosecution of the principal officer / responsible person
- Period
- Court sentence.
When does this apply?
TDS was deducted from the payee but not paid to the credit of the Central Government within the due date.
Calculate this amount
This estimate applies only the rate and caps published in the authored rule for this page.
₹0
Worked examples
| Scenario | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Company deducts TDS ₹40 lakh over the year but does not deposit — Principal Officer prosecuted | Rigorous imprisonment 3m–7y + fine | ₹0 |
How it is levied
Sanction of Principal Commissioner / Commissioner needed. Compounding is possible under s.279(2) on payment of the tax, interest, penalty and compounding fees per current CBDT guidelines.
⚠ VERIFY
The CBDT compounding guidelines are periodically updated — confirm the current version before quantifying compounding fees.