Section 194A(3)(v) of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.393
Section 194A(3)(v) falls under section 194A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which corresponds to section 393 (Tax to be deducted at source) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 393 of the 2025 Act
Correspondence checked against the ICAI tabular mapping of the two Acts and the BharatTax.co section commentary.
The decision most relied on for Section 194A(3)(v) is Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank Ltd. v. Assessing Officer (154 Taxmann.com 305), cited in 136 of the 215 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 194A(3)(v)
Section 80P(4) is not applicable to a cooperative bank unless it is classified as a 'bank' under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. For cooperative banks not meeting this definition, the deduction for interest earned from investments in cooperative societies is available under Section 80P(2)(d) of the Income-tax Act.
A multi-state cooperative bank is obligated to deduct tax at source on interest paid on fixed deposits placed by cooperative societies, as Section 194A(3)(viia) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, rather than Section 194A(3)(v), applies to cooperative banks in this context.
A co-operative society, not being a primary agricultural credit society, is not eligible for deduction under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) or Section 80P(2)(d) on interest income earned from deposits or investments made with other co-operative or scheduled banks, as Section 80P(4) restricts such claims.
A cooperative bank is not required to deduct tax at source on interest paid on time deposits to a cooperative society.
A multi-state cooperative bank is obligated to deduct tax at source on interest paid or credited on fixed deposits placed by cooperative societies, as per Section 194A(1) read with Section 194A(3) of the Act, unless an exemption applies.
CBDT circulars, instructions, or directions issued under Section 119 cannot override or detract from the provisions of the Income-tax Act, as a delegated authority lacks the power to amend law enacted by Parliament.
Interest earned by a cooperative society from investments made with a cooperative bank is eligible for deduction under section 80P(2)(d).
A CBDT circular restricting the definition of "member" under Section 194A(3)(v) to exclude nominal, associate, or sympathizer members of a co-operative society is invalid. Such a circular conflicts with the provisions of the Act and exceeds the powers granted to the CBDT under Section 119, meaning co-operative banks are not liable to deduct tax at source on interest paid to these members.
The Assessing Officer (AO) must provide a deduction to the assessee respondent. This deduction relates to cooperative society income, as the CIT(A) has relied on case laws supporting such deductions.
