You did ₹80L in marketplace sales last year. Amazon deducted ₹4,000 in TDS every month. That's ₹48,000 in advance income tax sitting in your Form 26AS — your money, owed back to you if your actual tax liability is lower.
But it only comes back if you claim it correctly in your ITR. Most sellers don't. They either file with the wrong ITR form, skip Schedule TDS entirely, or file before their 26AS is fully updated — and the credit silently disappears into an unprocessed return.
The Three Documents You Need Before You Start
Don't open the ITR filing portal until you have all three.
1. Form 26AS — Your master tax credit statement. It shows every rupee of TDS deducted against your PAN from every source — marketplace platforms, banks (FD interest), clients (if you do freelance work), and any other deductor. Download it from the income tax portal: e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS.
2. Annual Information Statement (AIS) — Introduced in 2021 and expanded since, the AIS shows a broader picture than 26AS: all financial transactions linked to your PAN, including marketplace sales, bank credits, share purchases, and property transactions. The income tax department uses AIS to verify your declared income against third-party reported figures. A mismatch between your AIS and your ITR income is the trigger for most e-filing scrutiny notices.
3. TDS certificates from each marketplace — These are your reconciliation tool. Download Form 16A (or the equivalent TDS certificate) from Amazon Seller Central, Flipkart Seller Hub, and Meesho's tax documents section quarterly. Match the figures against your 26AS — if they don't match, resolve the discrepancy before filing.
Neha sells home linen across Amazon and Meesho, averaging ₹12L/month combined GMV. She downloaded her 26AS in June 2025 and found ₹7,200 in total TDS for Q1 — but her Amazon TDS certificate showed ₹8,400. The ₹1,200 gap meant Amazon had filed their TDS return with an error. She raised a ticket, they corrected it within 10 days, and she filed her ITR with the full ₹8,400 credit intact. That ₹1,200 would have stayed unclaimed if she'd filed the moment the portal opened.
Which ITR Form — and Why It Matters
Filing the wrong form is the most common reason TDS credits get stuck in processing. The income tax department rejects claims where the form doesn't match the taxpayer's income structure.
| Business Structure | Correct ITR Form | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor, regular books | ITR-3 | Turnover any amount, maintaining full books |
| Sole proprietor, presumptive | ITR-4 (Sugam) | Turnover below ₹2 crore, opting for Section 44AD |
| Partnership firm | ITR-5 | Filed at firm level, not individual |
| Private Limited / LLP | ITR-6 / ITR-5 | Filed at company level |
| Salary + marketplace income | ITR-3 | When business income exists alongside salary |
The Section 44AD presumptive route (ITR-4) is popular because it declares 8% of turnover (or 6% for digital receipts) as profit without maintaining detailed books. But it has a ceiling: once your marketplace turnover crosses ₹2 crore in a year, you must shift to ITR-3 with full books. Don't discover this at filing time.
The Step-by-Step Process — FY 2025-26
Step 1 — Reconcile your TDS certificates with Form 26AS.
Download TDS certificates from each marketplace. Cross-check the TAN, gross amount, and TDS figure against Part A of your Form 26AS. Flag every discrepancy. Resolve them before proceeding — the portal will only allow credit for amounts in 26AS.
Marketplace TANs for reference:
- Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd: BLRA08899F
- Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd: BNAF00598F
- Fashnear Technologies (Meesho): BLRF04579F
Always verify TANs against your actual TDS certificate — they can change with corporate restructuring.
Step 2 — Check your AIS for income consistency.
Log in → e-File → AIS. Check the "Other Information" section for marketplace sale amounts reported under Section 194O. The figure should broadly match your total marketplace GMV for the year.
If AIS shows a higher figure than you declared as income, the department will send a mismatch notice. If it shows lower, your platform may have under-reported — raise a correction with them before filing.
Step 3 — Compute your total business income.
Add up all income: marketplace sales (net of returns and platform fees), any direct sales on your own website, freelance income, interest income. Subtract allowable business expenses: packaging, shipping, advertising, platform fees, rent, staff costs, and professional fees.
Under Section 44AD (presumptive), you skip the deduction step and declare 8% (or 6% for digital) of gross turnover as net income. Simple — but you lose the ability to claim individual expenses.
Step 4 — Open the ITR filing portal and select your form.
Go to incometaxindia.gov.in → e-File → File Income Tax Return → AY 2026-27 → Online mode. Select ITR-3 or ITR-4 based on the table above. Pre-filled data from AIS and 26AS will auto-populate many fields — verify every line before accepting.
Step 5 — Fill Schedule TDS2 (non-salary TDS).
This is where your marketplace TDS credit is claimed. For each platform:
- Deductor name: Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd (or Flipkart / Meesho)
- TAN: as per your TDS certificate
- Gross amount on which TDS deducted: your total payouts from that platform
- TDS deducted and claimed: the amount in your 26AS for that TAN
- Year of deduction: FY 2025-26
Claim 100% of TDS in the current year — don't split across years unless the income was earned in a different assessment year.
Step 6 — Compute net tax payable.
The portal calculates: Gross income → less deductions (if old regime) → taxable income → tax at slab rates → less TDS already paid → net tax payable or refundable.
If TDS exceeds tax: you get a refund. Refunds for returns filed and e-verified by July 31 typically process within 20–45 days. Delayed verification = delayed refund.
Step 7 — E-verify immediately after submission.
An unverified ITR is not a filed ITR. The department will not process your TDS credit or issue a refund until verification is complete. The fastest method: Aadhaar OTP (instant). Alternatively: net banking, DEMAT account, or DSC.
The Two Scenarios Where TDS Credit Gets Stuck
Scenario 1 — Platform filed TDS return with wrong PAN. If your PAN isn't correctly updated in your seller account, the marketplace's Form 26Q may carry an incorrect PAN — and the TDS won't appear in your 26AS at all. The fix: update PAN in your seller account, and ask the platform to revise their TDS return. Takes 7–21 days.
Scenario 2 — You filed ITR before 26AS was fully updated. Marketplace TDS for Q4 (January–March) typically reflects in 26AS in May–June. If you file in early April, you may be filing before Q4 TDS is captured. Wait for the full year's 26AS to stabilise — usually by mid-June — before filing. Or file with Q1–Q3 TDS and file a revised return once Q4 updates.
What About GST TCS — Is That Claimed the Same Way?
No. Income Tax TDS (Section 194O) and GST TCS (Section 52, CGST Act) are separate deductions under separate laws and claimed in completely different places.
- 194O TDS — Claimed in ITR Schedule TDS2, credited against your income tax liability
- GST TCS (1% of net taxable value) — Claimed in Table 8 of your monthly GSTR-3B, credited against your GST liability
Both appear in your marketplace settlement reports as separate line items. Both are fully recoverable. Many sellers claim one and miss the other. Check both every quarter.
How to reconcile GST TCS in your GSTR-3B → Section 194O explained: the 0.1% TDS rate and what changed → New vs old tax regime — which reduces your final liability more? →
Tax season runs from April to July 31. The sellers who spend two hours in June verifying their 26AS against their TDS certificates will file clean returns, receive refunds by August, and move on. Those who skip the reconciliation will spend October answering mismatch notices — for a problem that was always preventable.