Up to Assessment Year 2020-21, if a shareholder gets dividend from a domestic company then he shall not be liable to pay any tax on such dividend as it is exempt from tax under section 10(34) of the Act. However, in such cases, the domestic company is liable to pay a Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) under section 115-O. The Finance Act, 2020 has abolished the DDT and move to the classical system of taxation wherein dividends are taxed in the hands of the investors.
Therefore, the provisions of Section 115-O shall not be applicable if the dividend is distributed on or after 01-04-2020. Thus, if the dividend is distributed on or after 01-04- 2020 the domestic companies shall not liable to pay DDT and, consequently, shareholders shall be liable to pay tax on such dividend income. As dividend would now be taxable in the hands of the shareholder, various provisions of the Act have been revived such as allowability of expenses from dividend income, deductibility of tax from dividend income, treatment of inter-corporate dividend, etc.
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