S. Muralidhar, J.

1. The common question that arises for consideration in these writ petitions concerns the validity of the action initiated by the Respondent Income Tax Department ('Department') against the Petitioners under Sections 201(1) and 201(1A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’) for non-deduction of tax at source (‘TDS’) for periods earlier than four years prior to 31st March, 2011. These petitions in turn involve the interpretation of the proviso to sub-section (3) of Section 201 of the Act, which was inserted with effect from 1st April, 2010.

2. Although the facts of these cases are more or less similar, the facts pertaining to Tata Teleservices Limited (‘TTSL’), the Petitioner in WP(C) No. 8642/2011, are first discussed. TTSL is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, engaged in the business of providing telecommunication services across the country. TTSL has a central office in New Delhi. It provides post-paid and pre-paid telecommunication services for which it entered into agreements with various channel partners (distributors). In the pre-paid segment, TTSL sells products such as Recharge Coupon Vouchers (RCVs) and Starter Kits to channel pa