Truckers can cheer up!

Increased service tax may be giving tough times to the truckers and leading to kind of unrest, seeing the sudden escalation and regulations from the Supreme Court to restrict their goods carrying capacity to the prescribed load. But all is not against them. At least there is one good news to cheer about. Now the truckers will be relieved from the insensitivity on the part of consignee to provide them with TDS certificate which ensured tax relief to the truckers.

The Central Board of Direct taxes (CBDT) has come down heavily on the defaulting consignee who refused to issue the TDS certificate to the truckers after their goods reached the destination. This led to non-availability of tax relief to the truckers which was their due. In its latest stricture issuing an order CBDT has imposed a penalty of Rs. 100 per day to the defaulting consignee, to the time they issued the certificate.

The order has been issued in the wake of representations received by the Board from the various transporters' organisation, particularly All India Confederation of Goods Vehicle Owners Association (ACOGOA), pointing out the difficulties faced by truck operators. In cases where payment was received by the truck operator from the consignee on delivery of goods, the certificate would either not be issued or, if issued, would be in the name of the consignor in place of the truck operator.