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A small business has received payments net of TDS but no certificate, and worries the credit is lost.
Credit follows the deductor's quarterly return to the deductee's PAN in Form 26AS or Form 168; the certificate, due within 15 days of the return due date, is proof rather than the source of credit.
For each customer, record the TDS amount, quarter, certificate due date and whether the entry appears in the credit statement.
Four clear cases (in statement only, in neither, certificate only, amounts differ), each with one action to send the customer.
Short answer: Yes, you can usually still get the credit. The TDS certificate (Form 16A, or Form 131 for tax year 2026-27 onward) is your customer’s paper proof, but the credit you claim comes from what appears against your PAN in Form 26AS (Form 168 from tax year 2026-27). Check the statement first. Then chase the certificate. If it is late, the late fee falls on the customer, not on you.
Why has the certificate not arrived?
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| TDS in Form 26AS, no certificate | Customer filed the return but has not downloaded or sent the certificate, or has an old email address | Ask for the TRACES certificate; give the correct contact details |
| Nothing in Form 26AS, no certificate | Return not filed yet, or not processed | Check the due date; if it has passed, ask for the challan and return acknowledgement |
| Certificate received, nothing in Form 26AS | Return not processed, wrong PAN or wrong quarter | Send the certificate back with your PAN and ask the customer to check the return |
| Both exist but amounts differ | Partial reporting, wrong rate or a split across quarters | Ask for a correction statement for the difference |
Only the first row is a pure paperwork problem. The other three need the customer to act on the return itself.
When must the deductor issue the certificate?
For non-salary TDS, the certificate is due within 15 days of the quarterly return due date:
| Quarter | Return due | Certificate due |
|---|---|---|
| April to June | 31 July | 15 August |
| July to September | 31 October | 15 November |
| October to December | 31 January | 15 February |
| January to March | 31 May | 15 June |
If it is late, the deductor can face a fee of ₹100 per day under Section 272A(2)(g) of the 1961 Act, capped at the TDS amount. You pay nothing for their delay.
Can the deductor generate it themselves from TRACES?
Yes. Once the quarterly return is processed, the deductor logs in to TRACES with its TAN and requests the certificates for that quarter. Each one carries a unique certificate number. When you ask, be specific:
- your PAN and legal name exactly as on the PAN card,
- the quarter and the invoice numbers covered,
- “please send the TRACES-generated certificate” (so you do not receive a letterhead summary instead).
The Form 16A reconciliation guide explains how to tick each certificate off against your ledger, and the Form 131 guide covers the certificate under the new Act.
Worked example: ₹40,000 TDS, checked on 20 November
A customer paid your firm ₹4,00,000 in August for professional services (before GST) and deducted 10% under Section 194J, which is ₹40,000.
- Quarter: July to September.
- Return due: 31 October.
- Certificate due: 15 November.
- On 20 November, five days after the certificate date, you have no certificate.
Step 1: open Form 26AS. If ₹40,000 shows against the customer’s TAN with booking status “F” (final), your credit is safe. Write once asking for the certificate.
Step 2: if nothing shows, the problem is bigger than paperwork. Ask for the challan details and return acknowledgement; the next article shows how to check them.
The customer is 5 days late on the certificate, so the fee on their side is already ₹500 (5 × ₹100) by 20 November.
What to read next
- How can I check whether my customer actually deposited the TDS?
- Form 16A TDS certificate reconciliation
- Form 131 TDS certificate under the Income-tax Act 2025
When dozens of customers deduct TDS, tracking which certificates and statement entries are still missing is the slow part. TransactIG reconciles TDS receivable against your credit statement and lists the gaps in an exception queue; see TDS reconciliation software.
Content authored by practitioners with experience at Amazon India, Intuit QuickBooks, and the Tata Group. Meet the team →