Special provisions relating to deduction of tax at source in certain cases.

24. (1) The State Government may, having regard to the effective recovery of tax, require in respect of contractors or any other class or classes of dealers that any person making payment of any valuable consideration to them for the execution of a works contract in the State involving transfer of property in goods, whether as goods or in some other form or for sale of goods in the State, as the case may be, shall, at the time of making payment, whether by cash, adjustment, credit to the account, recovery of dues or in any other manner, deduct tax in advance therefrom which shall be calculated by multiplying the amount paid in any manner with such rate not exceeding ten per cent, as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify and different rates may be specified for different works contracts or class or classes of dealers, and that such person shall keep record, of the payments made and, of the tax deducted in advance therefrom, for a period of five years from the close of the year when the payments were made and shall produce such record before the prescribed authority when so required for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply where the amount or the aggregate of the amounts paid or likely to be paid during a year by any person to a dealer does not or is not likely to exceed one lakh rupees or such other amount as may be prescribed.

(3) Every person who is required to deduct tax in advance under sub-section (1) shall furnish such returns at such intervals by such dates in such manner to such authority as may be prescribed and shall pay the tax deducted according to such returns to the State Government in such manner as may be prescribed.

(4) Every person referred to in sub-section (3) shall issue to the payee a certificate of tax deduction and payment in such form in such manner as may be prescribed.

(5) Any tax paid to the State Government in accordance with sub-section (3) shall be adjustable by the payee, on the authority of the certificate issued to him under sub-section (4), with the tax payable by him under this Act and the assessing authority shall, on furnishing of such certificate to it, allow the benefit of such adjustment after due verification of the payment.

(6) If any person fails to deduct the whole or any part of the tax as required by or under the provisions of sub-section (1), or fails to pay the whole or any part of the tax as required by or under sub-section (3), then, the authority referred to in sub-section (3) may, at any time within five years of the close of the year when he failed to do so, by order in writing, direct him, after giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard, to pay, by way of penalty, a sum equal to the amount of tax which he failed to deduct or pay as aforesaid.