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Form 16A is the TDS certificate for non-salary deductions. This recipe shows how to:
  • Confirm the Form 26Q or Form 27Q return is filed for the quarter
  • Submit a Form 16A generation job on TRACES
  • Poll the job and download certificates when ready
Before you begin:
  • Generate a Sandbox authorization token using the Authenticate endpoint.
  • File the relevant Form 26Q or Form 27Q return for the TAN, financial year, and quarter. See the File Form 26Q TDS Returns recipe if needed.
  • Keep TRACES credentials (username and password) and challan details for the selected quarter.
  • Prepare at least three PAN-amount pairs for the challan you will use in the security captcha.
1

Confirm the return is filed

Form 16A is available only after the relevant Form 26Q or Form 27Q return is filed. If you already filed the return, skip to Step 2.To confirm filing status, use the Search E-File TDS Return Jobs endpoint with the TAN, financial year, quarter, and form.

cURL Request - Search E-File TDS Return Jobs

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.sandbox.co.in/tds/compliance/e-file/search \
  --header 'Authorization: {sandbox-access-token}' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx' \
  --header 'x-api-version: 1.0.0' \
  --data '{
    "@entity": "in.co.sandbox.tds.compliance.e-file.search",
    "tan": "AHMA09719B",
    "quarter": "Q2",
    "form": "26Q",
    "financial_year": "FY 2024-25",
    "from_date": 1711929600000,
    "to_date": 1750463999000,
    "page_size": 20
  }'
Look for a job where status is succeeded for the matching form and quarter. This confirms the return is filed and you can proceed.
2

Submit a Form 16A job

Submit a Form 16A generation job using the Submit Job endpoint. Set the path to form16a and the form field to 26Q (or 27Q for non-resident payments).

cURL Request - Submit Form 16A Job

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.sandbox.co.in/tds/compliance/traces/deductors/forms/form16a \
  --header 'Authorization: {sandbox-access-token}' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx' \
  --header 'x-api-version: 1.0.0' \
  --data '{
    "@entity": "in.co.sandbox.tds.compliance.traces.credentials",
    "username": "traces-username",
    "password": "traces-password",
    "tan": "AHMA09719B",
    "security_captcha": {
      "@entity": "in.co.sandbox.tds.compliance.traces.credentials.security_captcha",
      "quarter": "Q2",
      "financial_year": "FY 2024-25",
      "form": "26Q",
      "bsr_code": "0510001",
      "challan_date": 1711929600000,
      "challan_serial_no": "00001",
      "provisional_receipt_number": "123456789012345",
      "challan_amount": 150000,
      "unique_pan_amount_combination_for_challan": [
        ["ABCDE1234F|50000"],
        ["PQRSX9876Z|50000"],
        ["LMNOP4321Q|50000"]
      ]
    },
    "remember_me": true
  }'
A successful response returns a certificate job with:
  • job_id - Use this to poll status and fetch certificates
  • status - Typically created or queued
  • remember_me - Indicates whether credentials are stored for polling
If remember_me is true, you can poll status without resending TRACES credentials where supported. If remember_me is false, include credentials when polling.
Make sure unique_pan_amount_combination_for_challan includes at least three PAN-amount pairs for the selected challan. TRACES uses this to validate access.
3

Poll and fetch certificates

After submitting the job, poll its status and fetch completed jobs when ready.

​
3.1 Poll a specific Form 16A job

Use the Poll Job endpoint with the job_id from Step 2:

cURL Request - Poll Form 16A Job Status

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.sandbox.co.in/tds/compliance/traces/deductors/forms/form16a/status?job_id={job_id}' \
  --header 'Authorization: {sandbox-access-token}' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx' \
  --header 'x-api-version: 1.0.0' \
  --data '{
    "@entity": "in.co.sandbox.tds.compliance.traces.credentials",
    "username": "traces-username",
    "password": "traces-password",
    "tan": "AHMA09719B"
  }'
When processing is complete, the job status becomes succeeded or failed.

​
3.2 Fetch all Form 16A jobs and download certificates

To list jobs for a TAN and period, use the Fetch Jobs endpoint:
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.sandbox.co.in/tds/compliance/traces/deductors/forms/form16a/search \
  --header 'Authorization: {sandbox-access-token}' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx' \
  --header 'x-api-version: 1.0.0' \
  --data '{
    "@entity": "in.co.sandbox.tds.compliance.certificate.job.search",
    "tan": "AHMA09719B",
    "quarter": "Q2",
    "form": "26Q",
    "financial_year": "FY 2024-25",
    "from_date": 1711929600000,
    "to_date": 1750463999000,
    "page_size": 20
  }'
For status = "succeeded", use the certificate download URLs in the job metadata (if enabled on your plan) to download the Form 16A PDFs and store them in your system.
If the job fails, verify TRACES credentials, challan details, and that the return is processed for the selected quarter and financial year.