What it is
Section 194J requires a business paying for professional or technical services to deduct 10% and pay it to the tax office against your PAN. Content creation counts. It is not a fee and it is not the brand keeping anything, it is your tax paid early.
The threshold
No deduction until you cross ₹30,000 from that payer in the financial year. Cross it and the deduction applies to the whole amount, not just the part above the threshold.
Without a PAN it is 20%
Section 206AA. If the brand does not have your PAN on file, the rate doubles and you cannot claim the credit easily, because there is nothing tying the payment to you. Send your PAN with the first invoice, every time.
Getting it back
It is a credit against your total tax when you file. If your final liability is less than what was deducted across the year, the difference is refunded. Many creators in the lower slabs get most of it back.
Check it actually arrived
Form 26AS on the income tax portal lists every deduction made against your PAN. A brand can deduct and then fail to deposit, and you find out when your credit does not match your invoices. Check 26AS once a quarter against your own records. The Annual Information Statement shows the same thing in more detail.
Keep the certificate
Form 16A is the brand's proof of what they deducted, issued quarterly. Ask for it if it does not arrive. It is the document that settles any argument about whether a deduction happened.