- Section 40A(3)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 provides that any expenditure incurred in respect of which payment is made in a sum exceeding Rs.20,000/- otherwise than by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or by an account payee bank draft, shall not be allowed as a deduction.However if payment is being made for plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages then Limit for these section is Rs 35000/-,instead Of 20000/-
- Section 40A(3)(b) also provides for deeming a payment as profits and gains of business or profession if the expenditure is incurred in a particular year but the payment is made in any subsequent year in a sum exceeding Rs. 20,000/- otherwise than by an account payee cheque or by an account payee bank draft.
- Section 40A(3) is an anti tax-evasion measure. By requiring payments to be made by an account payee instrument, it is possible to verify the genuineness of the transaction thereby mitigating the risk of evasion.Person are splitting a particular high value payment to a person into several cash payments, each below Rs.20,000/-. This splitting is also resorted to for payments made in the course of a single day.Courts have also held that the statutory limit in section 40A(3) applies to payment made to a party at one time and not to the aggregate of the payments made to a party in the course of the day as recorded in the cash book.According to the judicial opinion, the words used are 'in a sum', i.e., single sum.Therefore, irrespective of any number of transactions, where the amount does not exceed the prescribed amount in each transaction,the rigours of section 40A(3) will not apply.
- To overcome the splitting of payments (AS GIVEN IN POINT NO 3)to the same person made during a day as referred above and to increase the efficacy of the provision, an amendment was made through Finance act 2008 and after 01.04.2008, where a payment or aggregate of payments made to a person in a day, otherwise than by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or account payee bank draft, exceeds twenty thousand rupees, the disallowance of such expenditure shall be made under the proposed sub-section (3) of section 40A or the payment shall be deemed to be the profits and gains of business or profession under the proposed sub-section (3A) of section 40A,as the case may be.
EXCEPTION TO ABOVE PROVISION:The provisions of this section are subject to exceptions as provided in Rule 6DD of the Income-tax Rules, 1962.
- Payment to Specified payee Rule 6DD(a)- Where the payment is made to
- (i) Reserve Bank of India or any banking company as defined in section 5(c) of Banking Regulation Act, 1949;
- (ii) State Bank of India or any subsidiary bank as defined in section 2 of SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959;
- (iii) any co-operative bank or land mortgage bank;
- (iv) any primary agricultural credit society or any primary credit society as defined under section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949;
- (v) Life Insurance Corporation of India.
- (i) any letter of credit arrangements through a bank;
- (ii) a mail or telegraphic transfer through a bank;
- (iii) a book adjustment from any account in a bank to any other account in that or any other bank;
- (iv) a bill of exchange made payable only to a bank;
- (v) the use of electronic clearing system through a bank account;
- (vi) a credit card;
- (vii) a debit card.
- Note: "Bank" means any bank, banking company or society referred to in #(i) to (iv) of rule 6DD(a) and includes any bank [not being a banking company as defined in section 5(c) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949], whether incorporated or not, which is established outside India.
- (i) agricultural or forest produce; or
- (ii) the produce of animal husbandry (including livestock, meat, hides and skins)***** or dairy or poultry farming; or
- (iii) fish or fish products; or
- (iv) the products of horticulture or apiculture, to the cultivator, grower or producer of such articles, produce or products.
- Note: "Bank" means any bank, banking company or society referred to in #(i) to (iv) of rule 6DD(a) and includes any bank [not being a banking company as defined in section 5(c) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949], whether incorporated or not, which is established outside India.
- (i) is temporarily posted for a continuous period of 15 days or more in a place other than his normal place of duty or on a ship; and
- (ii) does not maintain any account in any bank at such place or ship.
****. Exemption from disallowance is not available
- on payment for purchase of livestock, meat,hides and skins from a person who is not proved to be the producer of these goods and is only a trader, broker or any other middleman, by whatever name called [Circular No. 4/ 2006, dated 29-3-2006 (14 CAPJ 201)]
- Any person, by whatever name called, who buys animals from the farmers, slaughters them and then sells the raw meat carcasses to the meat processing factories or to the traders/retail outlets is considered as producer of livestock and meat.
- Exemption is available subject to furnishing of
- (i) declaration from person receiving payment that he is a producer of meat;
- (ii) confirmation that payment, otherwise than by account payee cheque/draft, was made on his insistence; and
- (iii) a further confirmation from a veterinary doctor certifying that person specified in the certificate is a producer of meat and that slaughtering was done under his supervision [Circular No. 8/2006, dated 6-10-2006 (16 CAPJ 381)].