The days when Section 195 seemed like a Tedious, mind-numbing clause are long gone. We had waded into the 194R and 194S ocean, formerly the most fantastic sea, two years ago when 194Q was considered the immense sea.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes provided specific recommendations dated 16.06.2022 to facilitate the proper execution of Section 194R of the Income Tax Act, 1961, initially inserted in the Finance Act 2022. 194R controls whether or not advantages or perks received by any resident as a result of their professional or commercial activities are taxable.
According to Section 194R, who is obligated to deduct tax?
The deductor might be a local or a non-resident person, and they are both responsible for making sure that the tax that must be deducted for any benefit or perk, whether converted into money or not, has been removed under Section 194R. It should be mentioned that this clause will become operative on July 1, 2022. As a result, under this rule, no tax deduction would apply to a benefit or perk delivered on or before June 30, 2022. They outlined the main ideas and the Revenue department’s goal in introducing Section 194R by the top indirect services in Pune.
- Any benefit or perks given to a resident constitute the nature of their income.
By itself, “any benefit/perquisite” implies that this provision’s reach extends to various transactions. The main requirement before implementing section 194R is that the advantage or perk is given to a residence and results from the conduct of that resident’s commercial or professional activities.
2. Relationship Type – Not Employee -Employer Relationship
Relationship Type – Not Employee -Employer Relationship
Another view based on the terms of the section and the CBDT recommendations, Section 194R, aims to govern the advantages and perks offered in situations other than an employee-employer relationship. Benefits and perks in an employee-employer relationship are already covered under Section 17 and its equivalent TDS Section 192 of the tax code.
Reimbursement for expenses
- A common practice in many businesses, particularly among professional service providers, is making a transaction on behalf of a party and subsequently receiving reimbursement for the same amount. The following are the principles for reimbursement of expenses:
- Actual third-party documents are serving as support.
- The form and content of the payment should make it obvious who paid for the expense and who is repaid by the payer.
- Determine the expenses incurred and if they need to be reimbursed.
One may claim B. Section 194R has many unfathomable consequences, and this realisation strikes when reimbursement of expenses is included in the definition of any gratuity. Additional explanations on the implementation of 194R in cases of expense reimbursement are provided in CBDT guidelines.
It is essential to consider the impact of GST on free supply and expense reimbursement by the top indirect tax services in India. Suppose such bonuses or perks are not documented in the records of the accounts. In that case, Section 194R creates Pandora’s box for the receiver, leading to non-disclosure of revenue and unfavorable tax consequences.