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TDS Module

Applies to: TDS · Which modules do I have?

Purpose

Configure the module that handles Tax Deducted at Source: capturing deductions, resolving rates, managing challans, preparing and validating returns, issuing certificates and tracking notices.

Audience

Implementation consultants and the customer's direct tax team.

Prerequisites

  • Module licensed and enabled
  • TAN registration details available
  • The return validation utility available on the host, if returns are prepared here
  • Credentials for the government reconciliation portal, where synchronisation is used
  • The customer's deduction categories and rate positions confirmed by their tax team

Steps

1. Register the deductor details

Configure the TAN and its associated details. A group with several TANs configures each; deduction records are associated with the correct one.

2. Set up rate resolution

Rates depend on the nature of the payment, the deductee's status and the documentation held. The module resolves a rate from these inputs.

The determination of which rate applies is a tax position belonging to the customer's tax team. The module applies the configured position consistently; it does not decide it.

3. Configure deduction capture

Path Use
Manual entry Low volume, or exceptions
API ingest From an accounts payable system
Mapped ingest Where the source system's format needs translating, using the same mapping mechanism as invoice ingest

4. Configure challan management

Capability Note
Record challans Payments made against deductions
Synchronise from the government portal Where credentials are configured
Assign deductions to challans Deductions must be matched to the payment that covers them
Shortfall reporting Identifies deductions with no covering payment — the report to watch, because a shortfall is an interest and penalty exposure

The shortfall report is the operational heart of this module. Everything else is bookkeeping; this is the one that costs money when ignored.

5. Configure return preparation

Step Note
Validate Run validation before generating anything
Generate the validated file Requires the government validation utility on the host, with its path configured
Upload the challan status file Needed as an input to validation
Generate the summary form Produced alongside the return
Approve and submit Follows the customer's own approval process
Corrections Prepared as a correction return

Confirm the validation utility is present and its path is configured before the first return period. Discovering it is missing during a filing deadline is a bad week.

6. Configure certificates

Certificates are synchronised from the government portal and can be issued to deductees, including by email. Confirm the mail path works before a bulk issue.

7. Configure notice tracking

Notices are recorded, resolved, and where necessary answered with a correction return. Assign an owner; an untracked notice becomes a penalty.

8. Statutory constraints — not configurable

Constraint Consequence
Return formats and validation rules Set by the government utility
Filing deadlines Fixed
Interest and penalties for a shortfall Follow from the payment date
Certificate formats Fixed
Correction mechanisms Prescribed

Validation

Check Method Pass condition
Deductor details correct Review the TAN configuration Matches the registration exactly
Rate resolution works Resolve a rate for a known case Matches the tax team's expectation
Deduction capture works Record one by each path in use Stored with the correct attributes
Challan recording works Record a challan Stored and assignable
Assignment works Assign deductions to a challan Correctly linked
Shortfall report is accurate Compare against the customer's own records Agrees
Validation utility present Run a return validation Completes rather than failing on a missing path
Return generates Generate a validated file for a test period Produced and accepted by validation
Summary form generates Generate it Produced
Certificates synchronise Run a synchronisation Certificates retrieved
Certificate email works Send one to a real mailbox Delivered
Notices are tracked Record and resolve a test notice Recorded end to end
Permissions enforced Sign in as a user without TDS authority Refused

Troubleshooting

Symptom Cause Action
Return validation fails to start Validation utility missing or its path not configured Install it and configure the path. Discover this before a deadline, not during one
Validation reports errors Data faults in the deduction records The messages name the fields. Correct at source, then re-validate
Shortfall report shows unexpected entries Deductions not assigned to a challan, or a challan not recorded Record and assign. Shortfalls carry interest
Challan synchronisation returns nothing Portal credentials wrong, or the portal is unavailable Verify credentials; retry later
Certificates not arriving with deductees Mail path, or wrong addresses in the master data Test delivery to a known mailbox first
A rate looks wrong The configured position, or missing documentation on the deductee The determination belongs to the tax team; the module applies what is configured
A notice was missed No owner assigned Assign an owner and add notice review to the monthly routine
Correction return refused Prepared against the wrong original Confirm the original return being corrected
Deductions ingested but not visible Wrong TAN, or scoped to a different registration Check which deductor the records were associated with