Why does a quiet quarter still need an entry?
The department cannot tell the difference between a quarter with nothing to report and a quarter someone forgot. Both look identical from outside: no statement was filed against the TAN for that form type and period. What follows is an intimation or a show cause notice asking why.
The non filing declaration closes that gap. It records, against the specific financial year, quarter and form type, that no statement was due and why. The tutorial puts the purpose plainly: giving the declaration is how the intimation or show cause notice is avoided.
Which two rules apply before declaring?
Two rules govern the declaration.
- It cannot be submitted where the statement has already been filed for that period. The declaration is a statement about the absence of a return, so a return already in the system rules it out.
- Moving from non filing to filing status is allowed only once, which is what constrains reversal.
A declaration entered carelessly for a quarter that does turn out to need a return therefore consumes the one change available for that period. That is a reason to be sure before submitting, rather than treating the declaration as a placeholder.
What happens after submitting?
Verification details are shown on screen, then a confirmation message. A confirmation email goes to the registered email address of the deductor for the declaration, which is the record worth keeping alongside the quarter's payroll file.
Which quarters does this apply to?
The declaration is made per financial year, quarter and form type, which means a deductor can be filing one form and declaring non filing on another for the same period. An employer with salary deductions but no contractor payments in a quarter is the ordinary case: form 24Q is filed, and form 26Q is the one with nothing to report.
Treating the declaration as a per form decision rather than a per company one avoids the situation where a quarter is left silent on a form nobody remembered was registered.
Making it part of the quarterly close
The declaration is easy to record and easy to forget, and the cost of forgetting arrives months later as a notice about a period nobody has thought about since. Deciding the position on every registered form at the same time the quarter's returns are prepared avoids that, rather than treating non filing as the absence of a task.
Keeping the confirmation email with the quarter's payroll records closes it off. When a query does arrive about a quiet quarter, the question is whether the declaration was made, and the confirmation is the answer to it.
How to declare non filing of a TDS statement
On tdscpc.gov.in, signed in as the employer
Log in to TRACES as a deductor
Log in with the user id, password, TAN of the deductor and the verification code. The landing page is displayed.
TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements, p. 3
Open the declaration screen
Click Declaration for Non-Filing of Statements under the Statements and Payments menu.
TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements, p. 3
Enter the period and the reason
Enter the relevant financial year, quarter and form type, and select the reason for not filing from the dropdown list.
TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements, p. 3
Check the verification details
The verification details appear on screen for checking before the declaration is completed.
TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements, p. 3
Confirm and keep the email
A confirmation message is displayed on screen, and a confirmation email is sent to the registered email address of the deductor.
TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements, p. 3
What goes wrong
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The declaration will not submit for the quarter | A non filing declaration cannot be submitted where the statement for that period has already been filed. | Check whether a statement exists for that financial year, quarter and form type. Where one does, no declaration is needed.TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements |
| The period is not available to declare | Non filing declaration has been implemented from financial year 2013-14 onwards. | For earlier periods the declaration route is not available on TRACES.TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements |
| A quarter declared as non filing turns out to need a return | The tutorial states that moving from non filing to filing status is allowed only once. | Treat the declaration as a considered statement rather than a placeholder, since the change from non filing to filing for that period can be made only once.TRACES e-Tutorial, Declaration of Non Filing of Statements |
Steps last read from the source documents on
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file a nil TDS return?
Where no statement is due for a period, TRACES provides a declaration of non filing instead. The tutorial describes it as the way to avoid an intimation or show cause notice from the department.
Can I withdraw a non filing declaration?
The tutorial states that non filing to filing status is allowed only once, so the change for a given period can be made a single time.
From which year is the declaration available?
It has been implemented from financial year 2013-14 onwards.
Do I get confirmation of the declaration?
Yes. A confirmation message appears on screen and a confirmation email is sent to the registered email address of the deductor.
Where Engage fits
Knowing that a quarter genuinely had no deduction is a payroll question before it is a portal question. Engage holds the deduction position for every run in the quarter, so the decision to declare non filing rests on the payroll record rather than on recollection.
See Engage Payroll