What is 197 Certificate?
The section 197 of Income Tax Act, 1961 provides the facility of non-deduction or lower deduction of tax. The assesse whose TDS is to be deducted on certain receipts can make application before Assessing Officer to get this benefit. The deductee can apply for certificate for non-deduction or lower deduction of tax on his receipt in Form 13. The deductor after proper validation, needs to provide the certificate details in TDS Returns. The 197 Certificate is of 10 digit number. The deductee can download the 197 Certificate from TRACES.
The steps for Validating 197/195(3) Certificate are given below:
1. Log in to TRACES site as Deductor
2. Click on Validate Lower Deduction u/s 197 & 195(3) under Statements/Payments tab to validate 197/195(3) Certificate
3. Fill required details such as PAN of Deductee and Financial Year
4. Details of 197 & 195(3) Certificate will appear
The consumption details can be viewed by clicking on ‘Amount Consumed’ in each row
Steps for downloading 197 Certificate by Deductee:
1. Log in to TRACES site as a Deductor
2. Click on Inbox under Communication Tab
3. Select Category of Communication: Certificate u/s 197, 206C
4. Click on Go button. Communication detail will appear under Action Required option
5. Select the Row of Issuance of Certificate
6. Click on Download Certificate tab to download it
7. User can view Communication Category details after clicking on View Details tab
8. Now log in to TRACES site by entering User ID, Password, TAN of Deductor and Captcha
9. Click on Download 197/206 Certificate available under Downloads tab
10. Mention Financial Year, Deductee PAN or Request No. List of available certificate will appear
11. Click on hyperlink Download/View Certificate to download and view Certificate
Source: TRACES