Form 27EQ To Form 143: What's Changing In TCS Returns Under The New Income-tax Act
- Legal Sections
- 22 Jul, 2026
Form 27EQ to Form 143: What's Changing in TCS Returns Under the New Income-tax Act
A Familiar TCS Form Gets a New Number
If you sell scrap, liquor or run a mining or quarrying business or even operate tours you have to collect tax from the source, You probably have used Form 27EQ for a time to file your quarterly TCS returns.The Income-tax Act, 2025 says this form is now called Form 143.You still have to use it to report your tax collection.Form 143 replaces the Form 27EQ. For many collectors, this has raised the same question that came up with 24Q and 26Q: has the process of collecting and reporting TCS actually changed, or is this simply a new label on an old form?
Same Purpose, New Identity
Form 143 does the job as Form 27EQ always did. The people who collect taxes have to send in a report every quarter. This report is about the taxes they collected. It is sent in under Section 397(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act 2025. This is similar to what was done under Section 200(3) of the Act from 1961.Whether someone is selling things or collecting money from parking or from toll roads or from selling things that come from mines or from people sending money to countries or from trips to other countries or from selling goods they all have to report the taxes they collect. The main thing that changed is the number of the form not what the form is used for. Form 143 is used for the purpose as Form 27EQ was used for. The change, from Form 27EQ to Form 143 is basically a matter of giving it a new number.
Who Needs to File Form 143
Any collector responsible for collecting tax from buyers or collectees at the time of debit or receipt of payment must file Form 143 for the relevant quarter. This includes both government and non-government entities operating in sectors such as minerals, liquor, scrap trade, foreign remittances, and the sale of goods under applicable TCS provisions. The obligation applies irrespective of business size, so both small businesses and large enterprises must comply if their transactions fall within the specified TCS categories.
When the Change Takes Effect
Form 143 is going to be used from the Financial Year 2026-27 onwards. It will start with the April-June 2026 quarter. For the Financial Year 2025-26 people will still use the Form 27EQ for the Q4 TCS return. This Q4 TCS return is for the January-March quarter. So collectors have to be careful during this time. If they are filing returns for periods before April 2026 they must use the form. They have to do this even if they are filing later.
For collections, from April 2026 onward they must use Form 143 to report them. They have to use Form 143 for all collections from April 2026.
Electronic Filing and Corrections
Like its predecessor, Form 143 must be filed electronically in the prescribed format; physical filing is not permitted. Once submitted, Form 143 cannot be edited directly. If a collector needs to correct or update details after submission, they must file a correction statement, and this can only be done once the originally submitted statement has been processed by the department. This mirrors the correction process collectors were already familiar with under Form 27EQ.
Part of a Bigger Renumbering Exercise
Form 143 is not a one-time change. It is part of a plan to renumber TDS and TCS forms under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
* Form 24Q is now Form 138.
* Form 26Q is now Form 140.
* Form 27Q is now Form 144.
* Form 16 is now Form 130.
* Form 16A is now Form 131.
* Form 13 is now Form 128.
The government wants to make TCS reporting like TDS reporting. They want TCS reporting to match the TDS return format used for Form 138 Form 140 and Form 144.
The government wants to standardize TCS reporting with TDS. This will help in making TCS return framework more similar, to TDS. Form 143 is also a part of TCS. TCS and TDS are similar so TCS reporting should align with TDS. The government made these changes to make TCS and TDS more similar.
What Collectors Should Do Now
Businesses that collect TCS should update their accounting software, ERP systems, and TCS challan reconciliation processes to recognize Form 143 for periods from April 2026 onward. Teams should also be briefed to avoid confusion between old and new form numbers during the transition quarter, since incorrectly applying the old form's due dates or references to Form