New Delhi, February 11 The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition alleging the absence of a mechanism to inform people about their obligation regarding tax deducted at source (TDS) when purchasing property valued at more than Rs 50 lakh.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta refused to entertain the plea, which claimed that honest buyers acting in good faith were later exposed to penalties and interest, despite having no intention to default.
"Dismissed," the bench ordered.
The petitioner, who appeared in court himself, told the bench that the case relates to the issue of enforcing a provision of the Income Tax Act in property transactions exceeding Rs 50 lakh.
"Under the current framework, the entire TDS obligation or liability is placed solely on the buyer, based on the implicit assumption that every property purchaser, regardless of their background and expertise, possesses a working knowledge of the income-tax law," the petitioner said.
He claimed that in the absence of any administrative mechanism for verifying compliance at the property registration stage, this assumption becomes unreasonable.
Referring to his personal case, the petitioner said he was a first-time homebuyer who was unaware of this requirement.
"This demonstrates that the issue is systemic. Many buyers complete the registration process without TDS verification," he said.
The petitioner claimed that there was no mechanism to check compliance at the registrar's office.
He made it clear that he was not challenging the tax liability or the validity of the provisions of the Income Tax Act.
"I am only seeking a limited direction for institutional safeguards, so that citizens are not unknowingly pushed into default due to the systemic gap," he said.
The petitioner argued that such measures would protect citizens, improve voluntary compliance, and safeguard government revenue.