Quick Answer
TAN details are updated through the "Form for Changes or Correction in TAN data for TAN allotted", filed online on the Protean (formerly NSDL) TIN portal. You can change the deductor name, address, category, responsible person and contact details. The TAN number itself never changes. The fee is about Rs 65 + GST and processing takes roughly 7–15 days. Quoting an incorrect TAN attracts a Rs 10,000 penalty under Section 272BB.
Fee ~Rs 77
Time 7–15 days
TAN number Unchanged
Penalty Rs 10,000
A stale TAN address reaches your deductees, not just the department
The deductor name and address held against the TAN are what print on Form 16 and Form 16A generated from TRACES. If they are out of date, every certificate you issue to employees and vendors carries the wrong details — and those certificates are what your deductees hand to their own assessing officers.
Scope
What Can Be Corrected on a TAN
| Field | Can it change? | Typical reason |
|---|---|---|
| Deductor name | Yes | Company or firm renamed, spelling error at allotment |
| Deductor category | Yes | Firm converted to LLP, proprietorship became a company |
| Address | Yes | Registered office or TDS branch moved |
| Responsible person | Yes | The named director or partner left |
| Contact details | Yes | New email or mobile for TRACES correspondence |
| The TAN number | No | A TAN is permanent — corrections never renumber it |
A change in the deductor category is the one to watch: it usually accompanies a change of PAN too, and the two records must agree.
Step by step
How to File a TAN Correction
Open the Protean TIN portalChanges or Correction in TAN data
→
Enter the allotted TANExisting record is displayed
→
Tick only the fields being changedLeave the rest untouched
→
Pay ~Rs 65 + GSTCard, net banking or demand draft
→
Send the signed acknowledgementWith supporting proof, to the TIN centre
As with a PAN correction, tick the box against only the fields that are actually wrong. Every ticked field is re-verified, so an over-ticked form takes longer and is more likely to come back with a query.
Supporting documents
| Change requested | Proof to attach |
|---|---|
| Company / LLP name change | Fresh Certificate of Incorporation issued by the ROC |
| Firm name change | Amended partnership deed or LLP supplementary agreement |
| Address change | Utility bill, rent agreement or bank statement for the new address |
| Responsible person change | Board resolution or authorisation letter naming the new person |
| Category change | Conversion certificate plus the entity PAN in the new category |
Proof must support the new value, and must be signed by a person authorised to bind the deductor.
Changed your entity name and unsure whether PAN, TAN or GST comes first?
Ask our TDS desk →Consequences
Why a Stale TAN Record Costs You
- TDS returns get rejected at validation when the deductor name in the return does not match the TAN master record
- Form 16 / 16A carry wrong details, because TRACES prints the name and address held against the TAN
- TRACES notices go to the old address or a departed employee's email, so defaults are discovered late and interest accrues
- Rs 10,000 under Section 272BB for quoting an incorrect TAN in returns, challans or certificates
- Late-filing fees under Section 234E at Rs 200 a day keep running while a rejected return is re-filed
One TAN, kept current, beats a second TAN
When a deductor's details change, the instinct is sometimes to apply for a fresh TAN. Resist it. A duplicate TAN splits your TDS history across two numbers and leaves deductees hunting for credits in Form 26AS. Correct the existing TAN, and surrender any duplicate that already exists.
Government sourcesTAN: Section 203A and Rule 114A, Income-tax Act 1961 / Income-tax Rules 1962 · Penalty for an incorrect TAN: Section 272BB · Late filing of TDS returns: Section 234E · File a correction: tin-nsdl.com (Protean) · Certificates and notices: TRACES
People also ask
TAN Correction — Frequently Asked Questions
Basics
Does the TAN number change after a correction?
No. A TAN is permanent, exactly like a PAN. A correction updates the data held against it — deductor name, address, category, responsible person — while the ten-character number stays the same. That is why correcting an existing TAN is always preferable to applying for a new one.
Which form is used for a TAN correction?
The "Form for Changes or Correction in TAN data for TAN allotted", filed on the Protean (formerly NSDL) TIN portal. It is a different form from Form 49B, which is used only to apply for a brand-new TAN. Enter the existing TAN, tick the fields being changed, pay the fee and send the signed acknowledgement with proof.
What does a TAN correction cost and how long does it take?
The government fee is about Rs 65 plus GST, roughly Rs 77 in total. Processing normally takes 7 to 15 days from the date the signed acknowledgement and supporting documents reach the TIN facilitation centre. You can track the request on the Protean portal using the acknowledgement number.
Changes
Our company changed its name. What do we update?
File a TAN correction with the fresh Certificate of Incorporation issued by the ROC. Update the PAN record as well, since the two must agree, and inform your bank so that challans reconcile. Do it before the next quarterly TDS return, because a return filed with the new name against a TAN still holding the old one will fail validation.
The director named as responsible person has left. Is a correction mandatory?
It is strongly advisable. The responsible person is the individual the department will contact and hold answerable for TDS compliance, and TRACES correspondence goes to the contact details on that record. Leaving a departed employee named there means notices go to an inbox nobody reads, and defaults surface only once interest has built up.
We converted from a partnership firm to an LLP. Do we need a new TAN?
Usually yes, because a conversion creates a new legal entity with its own PAN, and the TAN follows the entity. The old firm's TAN should be surrendered after its final TDS returns are filed, and a fresh TAN obtained in Form 49B for the LLP. A category correction on the existing TAN is appropriate only where the entity itself has not changed.
Problems
Our TDS return was rejected for a name mismatch. What do we do?
The deductor name in the return must match the TAN master record exactly. Check the name held against your TAN using "Know Your TAN" on the income-tax portal, and either correct the return to match it or file a TAN correction to bring the master record up to date. Act quickly, because Section 234E late-filing fees of Rs 200 a day continue while the return remains unfiled.
Form 16A is printing our old address. How is that fixed?
TRACES prints the deductor name and address from the TAN master record, not from your return. Update the address through a TAN correction, and regenerate the certificates once the change is reflected. Certificates already issued with the old address remain valid, but it is cleaner to reissue them for the current quarter.
We have two TANs by mistake. What should we do?
Keep the one you have actually been filing on, and surrender the other. File the outstanding returns on the duplicate first if any TDS was deposited against it, then apply for surrender. Leaving both active splits your TDS history and makes deductee credits in Form 26AS harder to trace.
Penalties
What is the penalty for quoting a wrong TAN?
Section 272BB imposes Rs 10,000 for failing to quote a TAN or quoting an incorrect one in challans, returns and certificates. The practical cost is usually higher: the return does not go through, Section 234E fees of Rs 200 a day accrue, and your deductees do not receive their TDS credit until the position is corrected.
If you would rather not do it yourself