Product Guide - 26AS Recon

Guide for 26AS Recon on ClearTDS

This guide walks you through using the 26AS reconciliation feature on Clear. This feature ensures taxes deposited by your employer or client are correctly attributed to you. By reconciling your tax records with Form 26AS, you can avoid overpayments, missing refunds, or potential audits due to discrepancies.

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Step 1: Access 26AS Recon Product

1. Go to the TDS product on the Clear landing page. Ensure you're on the correct page to avoid confusion.

1. Click the 26AS reconciliation tile. This opens the interface specifically designed for the reconciliation process.

1. On the 26AS reconciliation page, click Run Reconciliation to start the process.

1. Enter the return periods for which reconciliation is required. Select the business or entity for which the reconciliation needs to be performed. Double-check these details to ensure accuracy.

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Step 2: Import TDS Receivables Data

1. Click Import TRL to proceed with importing the TDS Receivable Ledger.

1. Import the TDS Receivable file using the Clear TRL template. This template is designed to streamline data entry and minimize errors.

Download the specific TRL template provided. Fill out mandatory fields like: Transaction ID, Deductor Name, Deductor PAN or TAN, Posting or Document Date, TDS value or Taxable value. Add additional reference columns if needed.

After filling the template with your data, upload it to Clear by clicking on "Select File to Import". The file will then be uploaded and the software will start processing it.

1. Upon importing the template, a prompt will appear for you to check for errors and duplicates in your file. Start by clicking on "Check for Errors and Duplicates" The system will then validate your data for any inconsistencies.

Once completed, any errors found within the file will be displayed in the summary. For instance, this specific file contains one hundred twelve errors.

Proceed by downloading the error file, correct the errors, and then re-upload the corrected file. Once the corrected file is re-imported, the data ingestion process will be deemed complete.

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Step 3: Download Form 26AS Data

The next step involves updating the 26AS data. To download this data from Traces, there are two preliminary steps to follow. First, a request must be placed on Traces to download the 26AS data. Have your Traces credentials at hand. Click on "Place Request via Traces", then log into your Traces account using your credentials. A captcha from the Traces Portal will appear. Begin by inputting your username, password, and captcha and proceed to place the request on the Traces portal. Once the request is placed, the status will change to "Check Status"

Note that there is typically a delay of 30 minutes to an hour before the file becomes available for download on the Traces Portal. After placing the request, it is recommended to wait for 30 minutes to an hour, then return and check the status using the same process. By this time, the 26AS file should be ready for download. Upon the successful download of the 26AS file, we can move on to the reconciliation process.

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Step 4: TAN<>PAN Mapping

Click on "Next: TANs to PANs Mapping" option.

At this point, your 26AS TANs are mapped to PANs using our internal mapping database and process. The mapping status allows you to monitor the status of your TANs mapped to the PANs, which will be considered for reconciliation. Let's proceed to run the reconciliation.

During this phase, you can confirm your reconciliation data selection and start the process. The duration of the reconciliation depends on your data's size and quality, which can range from 30 minutes to several hours. After that click on run reconciliation.

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Step 5: Understanding Recon Results

Once the reconciliation is complete, a results screen is displayed, divided into three sections: a summary view, a deductor view, and a document view. The summary view provides a condensed version of the reconciliation results, displaying the number of documents and the amount that has matched or is missing in your data.

Let's discuss the four categories, starting with the Matched category. This category displays the correlation between your 26AS and TRL documents.

The Matched category is further divided into four subcategories:

1. One-to-One Match Within Quarter: Exact matches where values in 26AS perfectly align with those in TRL for the same quarter. The only difference might be due to rounding.

2. One-to-One Match Outside Quarter: Matches where values align but belong to different quarters, indicating a possible timing difference.

3. Group Match Within Quarter: 1 or more entries on one side matching with multiple entries on the other side within the same quarter. It includes scenarios like one-to-many, many-to-many, and many-to-one matches.

4. Group Match Outside Quarter: Similar to group matches within the quarter but occurring across different quarters, helping identify patterns that span multiple periods.

These subcategories help you understand the nature of matches, identify patterns, and ensure the accuracy of your data.

Next, we have the Suggested category,

Suggested Category: Applies a certain level of tolerance to suggest potential matches for your reconciliation, helping you identify near-matches that might require further review.

The Suggested category also contains four subcategories:

1. One-to-One Match Within Quarter: Matches with a small tolerance applied. For example, a value of 9820 in 26AS might match with 9815 in TRL due to a difference of 5 rupees.

2. One-to-One Match Outside Quarter: Similar matches with tolerance but across different quarters, indicating potential timing or reporting differences.

3. Group Match Within Quarter: Group matches within the same quarter, with tolerance applied to account for minor discrepancies.

4. Group Match Outside Quarter: Group matches across different quarters, with tolerance applied, helping to identify broader patterns. This category is particularly useful for identifying near-matches that might require manual review or adjustments, ensuring no potential match is overlooked.

The next category is the "Missing" category.

This term is used when the system fails to match values between the 26As and TRL. The occurrence of unmatched results is typically due to four main reasons: a discrepancy between the value in your 26As and TRL, or missing PANs or TANs in either TRL or 26As.

The Missing category is divided into four subcategories to help pinpoint the exact reasons:

1. Missing Entries in 26AS: These are entries present in TRL but missing in 26AS, indicating incomplete data/value mismatch in 26AS.

2. Missing Entries in TRL: These are entries present in 26AS but missing in TRL, suggesting incomplete data/value mismatch in TRL.

3. TRL PANs Without Corresponding PANs in 26AS: PANs in TRL that don't have a match in 26AS, highlighting potential data entry or reporting issues.

4. 26AS TANs Without Corresponding PANs in TRL: TANs in 26AS that don't have a match in TRL, indicating possible mismatches or missing data.

The final group, "Not considered for matching," includes instances where the data is not suitable for reconciliation. This data is intentionally removed during the import process when your file undergoes various checks and validations.

This group is divided into three subcategories.

1. The first is "Self knockoff," where corresponding positive and negative entries in your TDS receivable offset each other.

2. The second is "Negative and zero TDS entries not knocked off," where there is no corresponding positive entry, only a loan, negative, or any 0tks entries.

3. The third is "TRL entries with unknown drafter PANs or TANs," where the TRL files do not list any PANs or TANs against that particular entry. These are not taken into account for reconciliation.

With this, we have summarized our reconciliation process. Moving forward, we will present the Deductor View.

This view provides a detailed breakdown of your results at a deductor level. It shows the breakdown for each deductor and the value that has been matched, missing, or suggested for those specific deductors.

Finally, we present the Document View, where entries can be viewed easily at a document or transaction level. In this view, you'll notice group matches, each represented by a unique color.

Our solution excels in providing the quickest method to reconcile your TDS receivables and 26AS data, maximizing your ability to claim your TDS credits. With our advanced matching algorithm, we are able to achieve the best possible matches for your data - making this tool ideal for such tasks.

Thank you.