You’ll typically need your PAN Card, passport, prior years’ Income Tax Returns and assessment orders, and proof of the income or transaction the certificate applies to, such as a sale deed or rental agreement.

You apply via Form 13 with a computation of your actual capital gains, so the certificate authorises the buyer to deduct TDS closer to your real tax liability instead of the full amount on the sale value.

If your estimated tax liability for the income in question is genuinely nil, you can apply for a Nil Deduction Certificate under the same Form 13 process, provided you can support that estimate with your filings.

It’s typically valid for the financial year it’s issued for, or for a specific transaction or deductor if issued for a one-off case like a property sale — it must be reapplied for annually if the situation continues.

It typically takes a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on your jurisdictional Assessing Officer’s workload, so applying early in the financial year or well before a major transaction is advisable.

Yes, under the Income Tax Act, 2025 effective 1 April 2026, Form 13 is being renumbered Form 128 and Section 197 becomes Section 395 — the process and requirements themselves remain the same.

Pricing depends on whether it’s a recurring application for regular income or a one-time property sale requiring capital gains computation — we offer a free consultation before sharing an exact quote.