TDS under Section 393: the consolidated framework explained

Short answer: around forty TDS sections collapse into Section 393, structured as tables — 393(1) residents, 393(2) non-residents, 393(3) special cases. Salary stays separate at 392. Rates and thresholds are unchanged. The quarterly return forms are renumbered.

The structural change

Under the 1961 Act, each payment type had its own section: 194C for contractors, 194J for professional fees, 194-I for rent, 194Q for goods, 195 for non-residents. Locating the right rate meant knowing the right section number, and the numbering had grown by accretion over decades — 194, 194A, 194B, 194BA, 194BB, and onward.

The 2025 Act replaces that with one section containing tables:

You now cite a section and a table entry rather than a section alone.

Where your familiar deductions went

Two provisions are simply gone: Sections 206AB and 206CCA — the higher-rate-for-non-filers provisions — were omitted by the Finance Act 2025 and are not carried into the 2025 Act. If your deduction software still runs that check, it is doing unnecessary work.

The forms all changed

The Income-tax Rules, 2026 renumbered the entire form set:

The 15CB change matters for practices: UDIN is now built into the form, so the certificate carries verifiable authorship.

⚠️ The transition rule deductors actually need

TDS is governed by the Act in force at the earlier of credit or payment.

So a deduction on a March 2026 payment sits under the old Act and is deposited by 30 April 2026 using the old challans — even though the deposit falls after commencement. The deposit date does not decide the Act; the credit or payment date does.

Lower-deduction certificates issued under Section 197 before the transition remain valid for FY 2026-27 receivables. No reapplication is needed on account of the change. Watch the certificate's own expiry, not the Act's.

Two Finance Act 2026 changes worth knowing

Manpower supply is now "work" for contractor TDS. This settles a classification argument that produced a steady stream of disputes — whether supplying labour was a contract for work under 194C or a professional or technical service under 194J, at a materially different rate. It is now treated as work.

No TAN needed for one common case. From 1 October 2026, a resident individual or HUF buying property from a non-resident seller can deduct without obtaining a TAN. This used to catch ordinary homebuyers hard: buying from an NRI means deducting under the Section 195 route on the full sale consideration rather than the simpler property-purchase route, and until now that also meant obtaining a TAN. One barrier removed; the substantive obligation remains. See TDS on property sale by an NRI.

What to change in your process

1. Update the citation on your workings — section plus table entry, not section alone.
2. Switch return forms from 24Q/26Q/27Q/27EQ to 138/140/144/143 for TY 2026-27 quarters.
3. Keep the March 2026 quarter on the old track — old Act, old challans, deposit by 30 April 2026.
4. Stop running the 206AB non-filer check — the provision no longer exists.
5. Reclassify manpower supply to the contractor rate.
6. Diarise certificate expiry, not Act commencement.

Default consequences are unchanged in substance and renumbered: assessee-in-default and interest at Section 398 (ex-201), disallowance of the expenditure at Section 35 (ex-40(a)(ia)), penalty at Section 448 (ex-271C), prosecution at Section 476 (ex-276B).

For the sections outside TDS, the old-to-new mapping is the quick reference, and the Income-tax Rules 2026 post covers the wider form renumbering.

This is a working reference, not the statute. For anything you are filing or relying on, confirm the section text and the applicable rate against the Act or the department's official 1961-vs-2025 comparison utility.