83. Substituted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009, w.e.f. 1-10-2009. Prior to its substitution, section 194C, as amended by the Finance Act, 1972, w.e.f. 1-4-1972, Finance Act, 1973, w.e.f. 1-4-1973, Finance Act, 1982, w.e.f. 1-6-1982, Direct Tax Laws (Amdt.) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988, Finance Act, 1988, w.e.f. 1-6-1988, Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f. 1-6-1992, Finance Act, 1994, w.e.f. 1-6-1994, Finance Act, 1995, w.e.f. 1-7-1995, Finance Act, 2002, w.e.f. 1-6-2002, Finance Act, 2003, w.e.f. 1-6-2003, Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004, w.e.f. 1-10-2004, Finance Act, 2005, w.e.f. 1-6-2005, Finance Act, 2007, w.e.f. 1-6-2007 and Finance Act, 2008, w.e.f. 1-6-2008, read as under :

‘194C. Payments to contractors and sub-contractors.—(1) Any person responsible for paying any sum to any resident (hereinafter in this section referred to as the contractor) for carrying out any work (including supply of labour for carrying out any work) in pursuance of a contract between the contractor and—

(a) the Central Government or any State Government; or

(b) any local authority; or

(c) any corporation established by or under a Central, State or Provincial Act; or

(d) any company; or

(e) any co-operative society; or

(f) any authority, constituted in India by or under any law, engaged either for the purpose of dealing with and satisfying the need for housing accommodation or for the purpose of planning, development or improvement of cities, towns and villages, or for both; or

(g) any society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860) or under any law corresponding to that Act in force in any part of India; or

(h) any trust; or

(i) any university established or incorporated by or under a Central, State or Provincial Act and an institution declared to be a university under section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956) ; or

(j) any firm; or

(k) any individual or a Hindu undivided family or an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, other than those falling under any of the preceding clauses, whose total sales, gross receipts or turnover from the business or profession carried on by him exceed the monetary limits specified under clause (a) or clause (b) of section 44AB during the financial year immediately preceding the financial year in which such sum is credited or paid to the account of the contractor,

shall, at the time of credit of such sum to the account of the contractor or at the time of payment thereof in cash or by issue of a cheque or draft or by any other mode, whichever is earlier, deduct an amount equal to—

(i) one per cent in case of advertising,

(ii) in any other case two per cent,

of such sum as income-tax on income comprised therein:

Provided that no individual or a Hindu undivided family shall be liable to deduct income-tax on the sum credited or paid to the account of the contractor where such sum is credited or paid exclusively for personal purposes of such individual or any member of Hindu undivided family.

(2) Any person (being a contractor and not being an individual or a Hindu undivided family) responsible for paying any sum to any resident (hereafter in this section referred to as the sub-contractor) in pursuance of a contract with the sub-contractor for carrying out, or for the supply of labour for carrying out, the whole or any part of the work undertaken by the contractor or for supplying whether wholly or partly any labour which the contractor has undertaken to supply shall, at the time of credit of such sum to the account of the sub-contractor or at the time of payment thereof in cash or by issue of a cheque or draft or by any other mode, whichever is earlier, deduct an amount equal to one per cent of such sum as income-tax on income comprised therein:

Provided that an individual or a Hindu undivided family, whose total sales, gross receipts or turnover from the business or profession carried on by him exceed the monetary limits specified under clause (a) or clause (b) of section 44AB during the financial year immediately preceding the financial year in which such sum is credited or paid to the account of the sub-contractor, shall be liable to deduct income-tax under this sub-section.

Explanation I.—For the purposes of sub-section (2), the expression "contractor" shall also include a contractor who is carrying out any work (including supply of labour for carrying out any work) in pursuance of a contract between the contractor and the Government of a foreign State or a foreign enterprise or any association or body established outside India.

Explanation II.—For the purposes of this section, where any sum referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) is credited to any account, whether called "Suspense account" or by any other name, in the books of account of the person liable to pay such income, such crediting shall be deemed to be credit of such income to the account of the payee and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

Explanation III.—For the purposes of this section, the expression "work" shall also include—

(a) advertising;

(b) broadcasting and telecasting including production of programmes for such broadcasting or telecasting;

(c) carriage of goods and passengers by any mode of transport other than by railways;

(d) catering.

(3) No deduction shall be made under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) from—

(i) the amount of any sum credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid to the account of, or to, the contractor or sub-contractor, if such sum does not exceed twenty thousand rupees:

Provided that where the aggregate of the amounts of such sums credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the financial year exceeds fifty thousand rupees, the person responsible for paying such sums referred to in sub-section (1) or, as the case may be, sub-section (2) shall be liable to deduct income-tax under this section:

Provided further that no deduction shall be made under sub-section (2), from the amount of any sum credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the previous year to the account of the sub-contractor during the course of business of plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, on production of a declaration to the person concerned paying or crediting such sum, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and within such time as may be prescribed, if such sub-contractor is an individual who has not owned more than two goods carriages at any time during the previous year:

Provided also that the person responsible for paying any sum as aforesaid to the sub-contractor referred to in the second proviso shall furnish to the prescribed income-tax authority or the person authorised by it such particulars as may be prescribed in such form and within such time as may be prescribed; or

(ii) any sum credited or paid before the 1st day of June, 1972; or

(iii) any sum credited or paid before the 1st day of June, 1973, in pursuance of a contract between the contractor and a co-operative society or in pursuance of a contract between such contractor and the sub-contractor in relation to any work (including supply of labour for carrying out any work) undertaken by the contractor for the co-operative society.

Explanation.—For the purposes of clause (i), "goods carriage" shall have the same meaning as in the Explanation to sub-section (7) of section 44AE.

(4) [***]

(5) [***]."

84. See also Circular No. 433, dated 25-9-1985, Circular No. 487, dated 8-6-1987, Circular No. 502, dated 27-1-1988, Circular No. 558, dated 28-3-1990, Circular No. 681, dated 8-3-1994, Circular No. 713, dated 2-8-1995, Circular No. 714, dated 3-8-1995, Circular No. 715, dated 8-8-1995, Circular No. 723, dated 19-9-1995, Circular No. 13/2006, dated 13-12-2006 and Circular No. 9/2012, dated 17-10-2012. For details, see Taxmann’s Master Guide to Income-tax Act.

See rules 28, 28AA, 28AB, 30, 31, 31A, 31AB and 37BA and Form Nos. 13, 16A, 24G, 26AS, 26B, 26Q and 27A.

85. For the meaning of the terms/expressions "carrying out any work" and "contractor", see Taxmann’s Direct Taxes Manual, Vol. 3.

86. Substituted for "twenty" by the Finance Act, 2010, w.e.f. 1-7-2010.

87. Substituted for "fifty", by the Finance Act, 2010, w.e.f. 1-7-2010.