General information, not legal or tax advice. Tax payment rules and bank procedures change; check with your bank or a qualified tax professional for your situation.
Yes, you can still pay GST, income tax and TDS by cheque in India, but not the way people used to. You can't walk into a bank with a cheque and a paper challan any more. You first generate the challan online, on the GST portal or the income tax e-filing portal, choose the over-the-counter option, and then hand the cheque to a branch of the authorised bank you selected while the challan is still valid.
There are limits. Since the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income Tax Rules, 2026 took effect, every company, and every person subject to tax audit under section 63 of that Act, must pay direct tax online. For GST, over-the-counter payment is capped at ₹10,000 per challan per tax period. Below is how each one works as of October 2026.
Income tax and TDS by cheque
Direct taxes are paid through the e-Pay Tax service on the income tax e-filing portal. What older guides call "Challan 280" (income tax, such as advance tax and self-assessment tax) and "Challan 281" (TDS/TCS deposited by a deductor) are now choices you make on that screen. You pick the tax type, assessment year and minor head, and the portal generates a Challan Form with a CRN (Challan Reference Number).
Step by step
- Log in to the e-filing portal, or use e-Pay Tax without logging in, and select the right payment type and minor head.
- Enter the amount, split into tax, surcharge, cess, interest and so on as applicable.
- Choose Pay at Bank Counter, select cheque as the instrument, and choose the authorised bank.
- Print or save the Challan Form (CRN).
- Take the cheque and the Challan Form to a branch of that bank before the CRN's validity runs out.
- After the payment goes through, download the Challan Receipt from the Payment History tab on the portal.
The portal's e-Pay Tax FAQs set out the key rules:
- Who can't use it. Under Rule 333 of the Income Tax Rules, 2026, every company, and every other person subject to section 63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (tax audit), must pay online. For many businesses this rules out cheques for income tax and TDS.
- CRN validity. A CRN is valid for 15 days from generation. If you hand over the cheque within that period, the validity is extended by a further 90 days so the cheque can be realised.
- Cash limit. Cash at the counter is limited to ₹10,000 per CRN. There is no such cap for cheques and demand drafts.
- Payment date. For a cheque or DD paid via Pay at Bank Counter, "the date of presentation of the instrument at the bank branch will be considered as the date of tax payment".
- Dishonour. If the cheque bounces, the challan shows the status "Cheque / DD Dishonored". The tax remains unpaid, and interest keeps running.
That payment-date rule is more generous than GST's (see below). It still only helps if the cheque clears. A bounced tax cheque leaves you with the tax still owing, interest for late payment, and potentially the issues covered in cheque bounce law in India.
GST by cheque (PMT-06, over the counter)
GST is deposited into your electronic cash ledger using a challan in Form GST PMT-06, generated on the GST portal. Rule 87(3) of the CGST Rules lists the allowed payment modes. One of them is over-the-counter (OTC) payment at an authorised bank, by cash, cheque or demand draft, "for deposits up to ten thousand rupees per challan per tax period".
That ₹10,000 limit covers cash, cheques and drafts alike. It doesn't apply to Government departments or to officers making recoveries or deposits during enforcement. For most businesses, it makes paying GST by cheque practical only for small amounts. Larger payments go by net banking, UPI, card, or NEFT/RTGS from any bank.
Step by step
- Create the challan on the GST portal and enter the amounts under the correct heads (IGST, CGST, SGST/UTGST, cess; tax, interest, late fee and so on).
- Under payment modes, choose Over the Counter, pick the authorised bank, and select Cheque as the instrument.
- Print the challan. The GST portal's payment user guide says to take the printout to the selected bank and pay within the challan's validity.
- A PMT-06 challan is valid for 15 days (Rule 87(2)). After that it expires and you have to generate a new one.
- Once the bank credits the Government account, it generates a CIN (Challan Identification Number), and your cash ledger is credited.
When GST paid by cheque counts as paid
Explanation (a) to section 49 of the CGST Act says the date the amount is credited to the Government account at the authorised bank is the date of deposit in the cash ledger. For a cheque, that is when it realises, not when you hand it over. The GST portal notes that for outstation cheques the CIN is sent only after realisation, and that banks have up to 90 days to share it.
In practice, a cheque handed in on the last day of a return deadline may not be credited in time. If GST is due, deposit the cheque a few working days early, or pay electronically.
Income tax vs GST at a glance
| Income tax / TDS | GST | |
|---|---|---|
| Challan | Challan Form (CRN) from e-Pay Tax | Form GST PMT-06 (CPIN) |
| Cheque allowed | Yes, via Pay at Bank Counter, unless you must pay online | Yes, via OTC, up to ₹10,000 per challan per tax period |
| Who must pay online | Companies and persons subject to tax audit | Anyone paying more than the OTC limit |
| Challan validity | 15 days, extended 90 days once the cheque is submitted | 15 days |
| Date of payment | Date the cheque is presented at the branch | Date credited to the Government account |
What to write on the cheque
Neither portal's FAQ tells you exactly how to write the payee name for an over-the-counter cheque, and banks differ. Ask the branch of your authorised bank before you write it. Each bank has its own format for tax collections, and a wrong payee is the quickest way to get the cheque refused. Beyond that:
- Cross it "A/c Payee". A tax cheque should never be negotiable. See account payee cheques.
- Make the amount exactly match the challan total, in both figures and words. Rules for writing the words are in amount in words rules.
- Write the CRN or CPIN on the back along with your PAN or GSTIN, so a separated cheque can be matched to its challan. Some branches ask for this. ChequeMaster can print text like this on the back of the cheque; see printing on the back of a cheque.
- Ask whether the branch accepts cheques on other banks. Some prefer cheques drawn on their own bank, or a local cheque, for tax collections.
- Keep funds in the account until the cheque realises. With same-day CTS clearing, it may be debited within hours.
Common mistakes
- Going to the wrong bank. The challan is tied to the authorised bank you chose when you generated it. Another bank can't accept it.
- Letting the challan expire. Fifteen days pass quickly. Generate the challan when you're ready to pay, not a fortnight before.
- Wrong head or minor head. Paying self-assessment tax as advance tax, or putting CGST under IGST, creates a mismatch that takes far more work to fix than it took to make.
- Trying to pay more than ₹10,000 of GST by OTC cheque. The limit is per challan per tax period, so pay larger amounts electronically.
- Assuming you can pay online-only taxes by cheque. If your business is a company or under tax audit, direct tax has to be paid online.
- Not saving the receipt. The Challan Receipt (income tax) or the CIN-stamped challan (GST) is your proof of payment. The bank counterfoil alone isn't enough.
Recording tax cheques
Tax cheques are easy to lose track of because they don't go to a normal payee. If you print them in ChequeMaster, create a payee for each tax type, print the CRN or CPIN on the back of the cheque, and mark the cheque Cleared once the receipt or CIN arrives. A filter for tax cheques still marked Issued shows anything that hasn't realised. See reports and advanced search.
