Experts raise several red flags around section 194R of the Income Tax Act

The section introduced in the Finance Act, 2022 to reduce evasion and widen the tax base has some conflicting provisions apart from other challenges

Section 194R of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which makes it necessary to deduct 10 per cent tax at source on the value of any benefit or perquisite received by a resident Indian, was introduced by the government to widen the tax base and reduce tax evasion in the country. Experts, however, have flagged several complications around it.

"The threshold prescribed under section 194R does not sync with threshold prescribed under section 56," said Amrita Bhatnagar, Associate Director, at RBSA Advisors.

Under section 56, if the receipt of benefits by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) exceeds Rs