Ok, so that's for salaried people. So the self-employed don't need it ?
When "A" makes a payment to "B", the Income Tax Department mandates that a portion of the total payment for "B" be deducted by "A" and paid to the Income Tax Department directly.
This is called
"Tax Deducted at Source", or TDS. Since "A" is deducting part of the payment, "A" is called the
Deductor and "B", the
Deductee.
Whenever such deductions are made, the deductor makes the payment to the Income Tax Department and issues a "TDS Certificate".
Form 16 (if Deductible Payment is in the nature of Salary)
Form 16A (If Deductible Payments are in the nature of other than Salary)
are
TDS Certificates certifying the amount of TDS, Nature of Payments and the TDS Payments deposited with the Income Tax Department.
Form 16-As are issued when TDS is deducted from non-Salary Payments like Professional fees, Rent, Bank Interest Contract Payment etc. (List is huge)
These TDS deductions are accompanied by a form16 or 16A, as applicable, as an evidence of Remittance of Income Tax by the Deductor on behalf of the Deductee.
If your PAN is registered on the IncomeTax website, you can generate your TDS certificates, Forms16 and/or 16A, if any, from the provided Links subject to that your Deductor has promptly remitted tax n filed mandatory Monthly/Qrtrly/Annual Returns on his side .