Form 143 to Govern Quarterly TCS Reporting Under Income-tax Act, 2025
Form 143 is the quarterly statement of tax collected at source (TCS) under the Income-tax Act, 2025. It replaces Form 27EQ, which was the TCS statement under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income Tax Department has published a Form 143 User Manual on the e-filing portal and FAQs on Form No. 143 (earlier Form No. 27EQ) explaining who files it, when, and what happens if it is late.
Legal basis
According to the department's FAQs, Form 143 is furnished under section 397(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 read with Rule 219 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Form 27EQ was the corresponding statement under Rule 31AA of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The 2025 Act has applied from 1 April 2026, so Form 143 is the statement for TCS collected in tax year 2026-27 onward. Quarters of FY 2025-26 remain on Form 27EQ under the 1961 Act, and tax teams should keep that form in their calendars until those statements and any corrections are complete.
Form 143 is a reporting form, not a new levy. Whether TCS applies to a transaction still depends on the charging provision for that transaction. The form is the channel through which tax already collected is reported so that credit reaches the collectee.
Who has to file
The user manual describes Form 143 as "a quarterly statement filed by collectors who are responsible for collecting tax at source on specified goods and transactions." The examples it lists are sale of scrap, tendu leaves, liquor and forest produce, parking lots, toll plazas, mining and quarrying, overseas remittances and foreign tour packages. This brings in traders in specified goods, contractors and licensees of covered activities, authorised dealers handling remittances and sellers of overseas tour packages.
Due dates
| Quarter | Period | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April to June | 31 July |
| Q2 | July to September | 31 October |
| Q3 | October to December | 31 January |
| Q4 | January to March | 31 May of the following year |
For tax year 2026-27, this means the July to September 2026 statement is due by 31 October 2026. Filing is electronic only. Once submitted, a statement cannot be edited, but a correction statement can be filed within two years from the end of the tax year, as the FAQs state.
Consequences of late or wrong filing
The user manual and FAQs point to a late-filing fee under section 427 and penal proceedings under sections 461 and 465(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The obligation to collect and deposit TCS, the obligation to file the statement on time and the accuracy of the reported data are separate controls, and each carries its own risk. The manual notes that timely and accurate filing lets complete credit pass to collectees and reduces their grievances, so wrong PANs, amounts or challan details should be caught before upload.
What you need before filing
- A valid TAN registered on the e-filing portal.
- The latest Return Preparation Utility (RPU) downloaded from the NSDL/Protean site.
- A valid file generated through the File Validation Utility (FVU).
- A digital signature certificate registered on the portal, if the statement is to be verified with a DSC.
Checking TAN access, authorised users and DSC validity well before the due date avoids a correct statement being filed late because of an expired certificate or a locked account.
Filing steps on the portal
- Download the latest RPU, enter the data, validate it, generate the FVU file and compress it into a .zip file.
- Log in to the e-filing portal with the TAN.
- Go to e-File, Income Tax Forms, File Income Tax Forms, and select Form 143 from the TDS/TCS forms under the Income-tax Act, 2025.
- Choose the tax year, quarter and upload type (regular or correction).
- Upload the .zip file, verify and submit.
- Note the Acknowledgment Receipt Number (ARN) and track the status. A rejected statement must be corrected and uploaded again.
Transition checklist for tax teams
Update SOPs, compliance calendars, ERP reports and branch instructions to refer to Form 143 for periods from April 2026, while keeping Form 27EQ references for FY 2025-26 periods and their corrections. Reconcile each quarter's transaction ledger, TCS collected, challans deposited and collectee details before generating the file, rather than leaving reconciliation to year-end. Use only the current RPU version, since older utilities can fail validation. Where several locations or business streams collect TCS, assign clear owners for classifying transactions, checking rates, matching challans and approving the upload.
Updated on 27 September 2026: added the legal basis (section 397(3)(b) and Rule 219), the quarterly due-date table, the two-year correction window, ARN tracking and links to the official user manual and FAQs; tightened the transition guidance.
