# Turn TRACES into an API

> Read Statement Status, challan consumption details and Requested Downloads on TRACES with an API call. A workflow can check your statements every weekday after the quarterly filing and email you each one whose status changed, such as Processed with Default.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/traces
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own TRACES account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on TRACES

### Get statement status

Reads Statement Status under Statements / Payments for one financial year, quarter and form type, regular and correction statements alike.

- Takes: Financial year, quarter, form type
- Returns: Token number, statement type, date of filing, status, status as on date, remarks

### Check challan status and consumption

Reads the Challan Status Query by period of payment, then View Consumption Details for each challan: which statement claimed it and what is left.

- Takes: Deposit date from, deposit date to, challan status (optional)
- Returns: Date of deposit, challan serial number, challan status, token number, financial year, quarter, form type, claimed amount, available amount

### List requested downloads

Reads Files Requested For Download under Downloads with View All: every Form 16, Form 16A, Conso File and Justification Report request and its status.

- Takes: Request date (optional)
- Returns: Request date, request number, financial year, quarter, form type, file processed, status

### Request Form 16A for all PANs

Places a Bulk PAN Download request for Form 16A under Downloads, completes the KYC screen with the statement's details and returns the request number.

- Takes: Financial year, quarter, form type, token number, one challan's CIN details, up to 3 PAN-amount pairs
- Returns: Request number, financial year, quarter, form type

## Automate TRACES with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### Statement status changes after filing

Starts: Every weekday at 8:00

1. Get the statement status for the current financial year and quarter, for each form type you file.
2. Keep the statements whose status changed since the last run.
3. Email you the token number, form type, date of filing, new status and remarks.

### Form 16A and Justification Report files now Available

Starts: Every day at 9:00

1. List the requested downloads with View All.
2. Keep the requests that are Available now and were not on the last run.
3. Post request number, financial year, quarter, form type and file processed to your webhook.

### Unclaimed challans from last month

Starts: Monthly on the 8th at 10:00

1. Check challan status for challans deposited in the previous month.
2. Keep the challans with status Unclaimed.
3. Email you the date of deposit and challan serial number for each one.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get statement status” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "traces.tdscpc.gov.in/get_statement_status",
    "input": {
      "financial_year": "2026-27",
      "quarter": "Q2",
      "form_type": "26Q"
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "tan": "MUMA12345B",
    "financial_year": "2026-27",
    "quarter": "Q2",
    "form_type": "26Q",
    "statements": [
      {
        "token_number": "032840100012345",
        "statement_type": "Regular",
        "date_of_filing": "2026-10-28",
        "status": "Processed with Default",
        "status_as_on_date": "2026-11-06",
        "remarks": null
      }
    ],
    "count": 1
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## TRACES’s own options

CPC (TDS) does not document an API for TRACES. Its e-tutorials cover the website itself: statements, challans, defaults, online correction and files you request and download later, such as Form 16A, the Conso File and the Justification Report. Downloaded files are ZIP archives that its own utilities turn into PDF or Excel.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Requested downloads | Form 16 and 16A, Conso File, Justification Report and Transaction Based Report, requested per statement and downloaded once Available. | A TRACES deductor account and KYC for each statement: its token number and challan details, or a registered Digital Signature. |
| TRACES PDF Generation Utility | Turns downloaded Form 16/16A, Transaction Based Report and 27D files into PDF, and the Justification Report into Excel. | A download from Requested Downloads. Form 16A can be signed with a DSC while it is converted. |
| TRACES by hand | Statement Status, Challan Status, Defaults, online correction and Requested Downloads, one TAN at a time. | A free deductor account with a User ID, password and the TAN of the deductor. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [TRACES e-tutorials for deductors](https://traces61contents.tdscpc.gov.in/en/e-tutorial-deductor.html), [E-Tutorial: Download Form 16A](https://traces61contents.tdscpc.gov.in/docs/E-Tutorial%20-%20Download%20Form%2016A.pdf), [E-Tutorial: View Statement Status](https://traces61contents.tdscpc.gov.in/docs/e-tutorial-%20View%20Statement%20Status.pdf).

## Signing in to TRACES

TRACES signs a deductor in with a User ID, a password and the TAN of the deductor, so each account works on one TAN. Downloads such as Form 16A then ask for KYC for each statement, or a registered Digital Signature. With Fous you sign in once through TRACES's own sign-in with your own account: the login is sealed with AES-256, never returned by the API, and an expired session is signed back in.

## Worth knowing

- **Form 16A is requested first, downloaded later**: A request starts as Submitted and CPC (TDS) asks you to wait 24 to 48 hours for Available. A duplicate request shows Disabled, and Not Available means every PAN in the statement is invalid.
- **Only after the statement is processed**: Form 16A can be requested only when Statement Status is Processed with Default or Processed without Default, and only for PANs in the latest 26Q or 27Q statement for that quarter.
- **KYC holds for one calendar day**: Normal KYC asks for the regular statement's token number, one challan's CIN details and up to 3 PAN-amount pairs. The authentication code it gives is valid that day for the same financial year, quarter and form type.
- **Form 16A comes as a ZIP file**: Downloaded Form 16A files are ZIP archives that you convert to PDF with the utility, without extracting them first. The password to open Form 16A is the TAN in capital letters.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Does TRACES have an API?

Not one that CPC (TDS) documents. Its e-tutorials cover the TRACES website, files you request and download later, such as Form 16A, the Conso File and the Justification Report, and utilities that turn those files into PDF or Excel.

### How long does a Form 16A request take on TRACES?

CPC (TDS) says to wait 24 to 48 hours while a request is in Submitted status. You download the file from Requested Downloads once its status is Available, and you can look a request up by request number, by date or with View All.

### Why can't I request Form 16A for a quarter?

The statement must first reach Processed with Default or Processed without Default in Statement Status. Form 16A is also generated only for valid PANs that appear in the latest 26Q or 27Q statement for that financial year and quarter.

### What does Processed with Default mean in Statement Status?

It means CPC (TDS) processed the statement and found defaults, and it asks you to download the Justification Report to see them. Pending for Processing means it is not processed yet, and a Statement Rejected row gives the reason in Remarks.

### Is Fous affiliated with the Income Tax Department?

No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own TRACES deductor account, and a method reads and does only what that account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of TRACES (Centralized Processing Cell (TDS), Income Tax Department). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.