Claim TDS 194-O Credit in Form 26AS

What 194-O TDS means for a marketplace seller

Under section 194-O of the Income-tax Act, an e-commerce operator deducts income-tax when it credits or pays a seller (the 'e-commerce participant') for sales facilitated through its platform. The tax is deducted by the marketplace, deposited with the government against your PAN, and then reflected as credit in your Form 26AS.

That credit is not automatic in your hands. It becomes usable only if the marketplace has filed its TDS return correctly and your PAN is quoted correctly. So the job is a reconciliation job: what the marketplace says it deducted, what your books record, and what the tax department shows.

Note on rates and rules: the rate, the base on which it applies, and any threshold exemption for certain individual or HUF sellers have changed over time and may change again. Do not rely on a blog for these. Check the current provision, your seller agreement, the marketplace's tax communication and your tax adviser. Also confirm the latest section references if the law has been re-numbered.

What to keep ready before you check

• Correct PAN on your seller account, matching your income-tax records exactly (entity name and PAN type).
• Marketplace TAN and legal name for each platform you sell on, usually on the TDS certificate or in the seller panel.
• Settlement reports for the full financial year, showing gross sales credited and TDS deducted per payout.
• Form 16A (TDS certificate) issued by the marketplace, if available.
• Your books: a ledger of TDS receivable, ideally one line per marketplace per quarter.

Steps to view 194-O credit in Form 26AS

1. Log in to the income-tax e-filing portal with your PAN. Menu names and paths change from time to time, so look for the option to view Form 26AS (it may take you to TRACES) or the Annual Information Statement (AIS).
2. Select the assessment year that matches the financial year of the sales.
3. Open Part A, which lists tax deducted at source on income other than salary.
4. Find entries tagged section 194O. Note the deductor name, TAN, amount paid or credited, and tax deducted.
5. Check the booking status. A final or matched status generally means the deductor's return has been processed. Anything else deserves a follow-up.
6. Download or save the statement and file it with your working papers for the year.

Also look at AIS. It can show reported transactions that you should reconcile with your sales, even where TDS credit has not yet appeared.

Match Form 26AS with your settlements

Build a simple table per marketplace and per quarter. The goal is to tie three numbers: gross sales credited per the marketplace, TDS per your settlement reports, and TDS per Form 26AS.

Timing differences are common. TDS deducted in March settlements may show in 26AS only after the deductor files its quarterly return, so a year-end gap is not always an error. Also confirm how the marketplace computes the base: ask for the working if the gross amount in 26AS does not tally with your sales data.

If you sell across several platforms, this is where a tool such as MarketplaceMetrics by Fundle helps: it reconciles sales and settlements so the TDS lines per payout are already organised when 26AS is ready. Support for each marketplace varies, so ask which ones are covered for your setup.

Claim the credit in your income-tax return

Once 26AS and your records agree, claim the credit while filing your ITR. In the TDS schedule for income other than salary, enter the deductor's TAN, name, the amount on which tax was deducted and the TDS you are claiming, tying each line back to 26AS. The exact schedule and form depend on the ITR form applicable to you, so follow the current utility's instructions or your tax adviser.

• Claim credit in the year the related income is offered to tax, not simply when TDS is deposited.
• Do not claim more than what appears in 26AS without a clear reason and your adviser's advice, because the processing system generally matches claims with 26AS.
• Keep Form 16A and settlement reports ready in case of a notice or intimation.

If TDS is missing or wrong in Form 26AS

1. Confirm PAN in your seller account. A wrong or old PAN is a frequent cause.
2. Check the quarter. If the deductor's return is not yet filed or processed, wait for the next update cycle.
3. Raise a ticket with the marketplace's seller support or tax team, attaching the settlement line, TDS working and your PAN proof, and ask them to file a correction statement if needed.
4. Keep a log of the ticket number, date and reply, so the recovery is tracked until the credit appears.
5. Escalate through your tax adviser if the deductor does not respond. Do not adjust your tax liability for credit that is not visible without advice.

Treat each unresolved mismatch as a recovery case with an owner and a date, much like a disputed fee or an unreturned item. Finance teams that review this quarterly avoid a rush at return-filing time.