Linking PAN with Aadhar has been made mandatory by Government of India and the last date is extended to 31st march 2023. After that the unlinked PAN Card will become useless.
What is PAN?
Permanent Account Number (PAN), is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric identity allotted to each taxpayer by the Income Tax Department under the supervision of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
The main objective of PAN is to use an universal identification key to track financial transactions that might have a taxable component to prevent tax evasion. The PAN remains unaffected by change of address throughout India.
Method through e-filing website is:
Step 1: Visit Income Tax Website
Step 2: Provide details like PAN, Aadhaar number, name as per Aadhaar, and captcha. If your aadhaar card has only year of birth, then you must also tick the option: ‘I have only year of birth in Aadhaar card’
Step 3: Following that, tick the box ‘Request OTP’.
Step 4: Provide mobile number and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’
Once submitted successfully, a message will be displayed on your screen showing your PAN is successfully linked to Aadhaar.
Other methods
You can send an SMS to either of the PAN service providers namely NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited or UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITL). You can simply send SMS in a specific format using a keyword to the either 567678 or 56161. The format is: UIDPAN<SPACE><12 digit Aadhaar><SPACE><10 digit PAN>
For example, if your Aadhaar number is 111122223333 and PAN is AAAPA9999Q. Then you are required to send SMS to 567678 or 56161 as UIDPAN 111122223333 AAAPA9999Q NSDL and UTI won’t charge you for this. However, SMS charges as levied by the mobile operator will be applicable.
Why SC makes PAN-Aadhaar mandatory?
The Supreme Court while delivering its verdict on the Aadhaar Act made the linking of Aadhaar with PAN mandatory. While certain sections of the Act were removed by the apex court, making the linking of Aadhaar and PAN mandatory is expected to help the government. Following are the reasons why the court allowed PAN-Aadhaar linking:
- Detecting fake PANs:
The linking of PAN and Aadhaar will help in weeding out fake PANs from the system. This is important as many individuals and entities possess multiple PANs with the intention of cheating the government when it comes to paying taxes.
- Ensure Tax compliance:
Just like the linking will help in rooting out multiple PANs, it is expected that the linking will ensure that individuals can’t cover up transactions. In the country, many individuals do not quote their PAN when it comes to high-value transactions as they want to conceal the transactions.
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- Carry out document verification:
The court took note of the fact that PAN-Aadhaar linking will enable 100% seamless verification of personal data provided in the PAN application form..
- Help in the easy financial trail:
The linking of PAN-Aadhaar will ensure that information can be shared with other jurisdictions smoothly. It will ensure an easy financial trail and help curb black money and check money laundering.
