Direct payment
Section 191 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deals with direct payment. In the case of income in respect of which provision is not made under this Chapter for deducting income-tax at the time of payment, and in any case where income-tax has not been deducted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, income-tax shall be payable by the assessee direct. The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1962. Repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) In the case of income in respect of which provision is not made under this Chapter for deducting income-tax at the time of payment, and in any case where income-tax has not been deducted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, income-tax shall be payable by the assessee direct.
(2) For the purposes of paying income-tax directly by the assessee under sub-section (1), if the income of the assessee in any assessment year, beginning on or after the 1st day of April, 2021, includes income of the nature specified in clause (vi) of sub-section (2) of section 17 and such specified security or sweat equity shares referred to in the said clause are allotted or transferred directly or indirectly by the current employer, being an eligible start-up referred to in section 80-IAC, the income-tax on such income shall be payable by the assessee within fourteen days—
(i) after the expiry of forty-eight months from the end of the relevant assessment year; or (ii) from the date of the sale of such specified security or sweat equity share by the assessee; or (iii) from the date of the assessee ceasing to be the employee of the employer who allotted or transferred him such specified security or sweat equity share, whichever is the earliest.
Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that if any person including the principal officer of a company,—
(a) who is required to deduct any sum in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or (b) referred to in sub-section (1A) of section 192, being an employer, does not deduct, or after so deducting fails to pay, or does not pay, the whole or any part of the tax, as required by or under this Act, and where the assessee has also failed to pay such tax directly, then, such person shall, without prejudice to any other consequences which he may incur, be deemed to be an assessee in default within the meaning of sub-section (1) of section 201, in respect of such tax.
B.—Deduction at source Salary.
Section 191, The Income-tax Act, 1961 (Act 43 of 1961).
Now in the Income-tax Act
INCOME-TAX-ACT-2025 391 Direct payment Official correspondence
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
Commr. of Income Tax, Delhi vs Alcatel South Asia Pacific
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) provisions in Chapter XVII-B of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which are machinery provisions enabling collection and recovery of tax, are NOT independent of the charging provisions that determine assessability of income in the hands of the employee. Instead, TDS provisions form an integrated code with the charging and computation provisions. Consequently, when any income falls under the head "Salaries" and is deemed to accrue or arise in India under Section 9(1)(ii) (i.e., earned in India through services rendered in India), the TDS obligation under Section 192(1) applies to any person responsible for paying such income, regardless of whether the payment is made inside or outside India. The obligation is to deduct tax on the basis of the estimated income of the employee under the head "Salaries" for that financial year. When multiple employers pay salary to the same employee for services rendered in India, all such payments are part of the income chargeable under head "Salaries" in India, and TDS applies. Section 192(1) must be read conjunctively with Section 9(1)(ii) and the Explanation thereto.
On this section: Provides for direct payment of income tax by assessee in cases where no provision for TDS is made under the Chapter or where TDS was not made; Explanation deems person, principal officer, and company as assessee-in-default if TDS not done and assessee does not pay directly
-
Commissioner of Income Tax Del v. Adidas India Marketing (Pvt.) Ltd.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where TDS was short-deducted but the deductee has paid tax on the income, the deductor is not mulcted again for tax (s.191/CBDT instruction); interest u/s 201(1A) runs only until actual payment of tax (by deductor or deductee). Explanation to s.191 (w.e.f. 1.6.2003) does not change the prior position. DATE VERIFIED Order 10.7.2006 (order-1.pdf).
On this section: Core teaching on direct payment by deductee under s.191 when TDS failed.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 191
What have the courts held on Section 191 of the Income-tax Act?
Commr. of Income Tax, Delhi vs Alcatel South Asia Pacific (25 Mar 2009) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Provides for direct payment of income tax by assessee in cases where no provision for TDS is made under the Chapter or where TDS was not made; Explanation deems person, principal officer, and company as assessee-in-default if TDS not done and assessee does not pay directly. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2006 to 2009.
How do I find court cases under Section 191 of the Income-tax Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Income Tax Act 191, section 191 Income Tax Act, section 191 of the Income-tax Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Commr. of Income Tax, Delhi vs Alcatel South Asia Pacific (25 Mar 2009).
What should I read with Section 191 of the Income-tax Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 17 ("Salary", "perquisite" and "profits in lieu of salary" defined), section 80 (Submission of return for losses), section 192 (Salary), section 201 (Consequences of failure to deduct or pay), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 April 2026 the provision to read is Income-tax Act, 2025, section 391 (Direct payment), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 191 of the Income-tax Act come into force?
Section 191 of the Income-tax Act, cited as Income Tax Act 191, came into force on 01 Apr 1962, having been enacted on 13 Sep 1961. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 10. Incomes not included in total income30885 words
- 2. Definitions11419 words
- 80HHF. Deduction in respect of profits and gains from export or transfer of film software, etc7148 words
- 80-IB. Deduction in respect of profits and gains from certain industrial undertakings other than infrastructure development undertakings5474 words
- 155. Other amendments5451 words
- 139. Return of income5400 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by the Income Tax Department, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. India Code holds no record of this Act in any form. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.