The Income Tax Department has confirmed the deployment of advanced TAN-based analytics tools to enhance its capability in conducting data-driven tax investigations, particularly for uncovering patterns of non-compliance, underreporting, and tax evasion. This move reflects a growing reliance on AI-powered systems and centralized data intelligence to detect anomalies linked to Tax Dedication and Collection Account Number (TAN) usage across sectors and business models.

The analytics system aggregates and cross-verifies TDS/TCS return filings, challan entries, PAN-TAN mappings, and deductee payment histories, using structured data from TRACES, NSDL, GSTR filings, and other regulatory portals. Investigators can now identify red flags such as duplicate TAN usage, inconsistent deductions, inflated refunds, or unexplained shifts in deduction patterns with unprecedented speed and precision. These insights are then used to trigger targeted scrutiny, field audits, or automated notices, making enforcement more focused and less dependent on manual assessments.

Tax officials note that this initiative has already led to a rise in early-stage detection of default-prone debtors, especially in sectors like real estate, contracting, digital services, and professional consulting. The department encourages businesses to regularly review their TAN-linked filings and ensure complete, accurate, and timely TDS/TCS compliance to avoid being flagged by the system. This development marks a new era in proactive, algorithmic tax governance, where data transparency and deductor accountability take center stage.