Managing Form 16 for your employees

Introduction

Form 16 is a certificate issued by employers that details an employee’s income and the tax deducted for a financial year. It helps employees file their income tax returns.

This guide shows you how to:

• Download Form 16 files (Part A and Part B) from TRACES
• Prepare and upload signed Form 16 files in Keka
• Use the Document Signer App to merge and sign files
• Release and send Form 16 to employees via email or portal

Who should use this: Payroll admins managing employee tax forms

Before you start:

• Ensure you have access to TRACES and the Keka payroll admin portal
• Keep employee PAN details updated in Keka

Step-by-Step Process

Download Form 16 from TRACES

1. Log in to the TRACES website using your user ID, password, and TAN.

   

2. Go to the Downloads tab and select Form 16.

   

3. Choose the financial year and click Go.

   

4. Verify the authorized person's details shown.

5. Complete KYC using either:

   • Digital Signature Supported Validation
   • Normal KYC (without digital signature)

   

6. After validation, you’ll see request numbers for Part A and B.

7. To download, go to Downloads > Requested Downloads.

   

8. Once status is Available, click Bulk Form 16 Part A file and Bulk Form 16 Part B file to download ZIPs.

9. 

10. Download the PDF Converter Utilities from the TRACES utility page.

11. For each converter utility:

    • Upload the corresponding ZIP file
    • Enter your TAN as password
    • Optionally attach your Digital Signature
    • Select a destination folder and convert files

    

Upload Form 16 Files in Keka

You can either upload signed files directly or merge and sign them using the Document Signer App.

Upload Signed Files

1. Go to Payroll > Payroll Admin > Form 16.

2. Click Upload Form 16.

   

3. Upload:

   • Part A ZIP (signed PDFs)
   • Part B ZIP (signed PDFs)

   

4. File requirements:
   • ZIP format only
   • PDF filenames must start with the employee’s PAN (first 10 characters)
   • PAN in filename must match PAN in Keka
5. Click Save Uploaded Files.

6. Optionally, check the boxes to upload:

   • Annexure (salary and allowances)
   • Form 12BA (perquisites and benefits)

   

Note: Uploading might take a few minutes. You’ll see status updates once complete.

To view errors:

• Click the count next to failed uploads
• Or click "To view the reasons for failure, click here"

Fix the issues and re-upload. New files will replace previously uploaded ones.

Use Document Signer App

1. Go to the Document Signer App and log in (only Global Admins can log in).

2. 

3. Click Generate Form 16.
4. If digital signature settings are enabled, select your signature and click OK.
5. Upload the Part A ZIP:
   • Files must be directly inside the ZIP

   • Filenames must start with PAN

     

6. Click Next and upload the Part B ZIP similarly.

Tip: Enable "Upload Part B separately" in settings to upload Part B independently.

6. Click Generate to merge Part A and B and sign them.
7. The signed, merged files are auto-uploaded to Keka—no manual upload needed.

We hope this article was helpful in understanding how to download Form 16 files, upload them in Keka.