The Income Tax Department has recently revealed the PAN-Aadhar linking status of individuals after issuing multiple warnings to the taxpayers. In India, Aadhar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) have become essential components of everyday life for the common man, each serving its own distinct purpose. Currently, the topic of discussion is the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with PAN, with a deadline set for March 2023.
The Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has stated that out of the 61 crore PANs issued to individuals, around 48 crores have already been linked to Aadhaar. The Chairman has also made it clear that those who fail to link their Aadhaar with PAN will not be entitled to any business or tax-related benefits. Any individual PAN that is not linked to Aadhaar by the end of this financial year (March 31, 2023) will be considered invalid. Furthermore, it is necessary to spend Rs. 1,000 to complete the PAN-Aadhaar linking process by the deadline of March 31.
The circular issued on March 30 clearly stated that once the PAN card of the taxpayer becomes operative, they have to bear all the consequences stated under the Income Tax Act, 1961 like the ending returns won’t be processed, pending refunds will not be made to nonfunctional PANs, faulty return cases can’t be resolved after the PAN becomes inoperable, and tax will have to be deducted at a higher rate. As per the released information, The number of Individuals registered on the Income Tax Portal is 10,83,82,304. Out of the said registered individuals, 9,40,87,312 have Linked their PAN with Aadhar Number. Which means only 86.81% has completed their PAN-Aadhar linking, leaving the remaining 1.42 crore taxpayers prone to additional fees and higher tax rates.
The individuals whose PAN is not linked with Aadhaar may include Individuals for whom linkage of PAN-Aadhar is not mandatory, like the residents of J&K, Assam, Meghalaya and Individuals above 80 years.
As PAN is a crucial KYC (Know Your Customer) requirement for all types of financial transactions, in addition to the aforementioned, the taxpayer may encounter difficulties at numerous other sites like banks and other financial portals. In addition to the above figures, the Income Tax Department also noted that the number of individuals whose PAN had been linked with Aadhar but the registration on portal has not been completed is almost 50 Crore.
“As per Income tax Act, 1961, the last date for linking PAN with Aadhaar is 31.3.2023, for all PAN holders who do not fall under the exempt category, failing which the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative. Don’t delay, link today!,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes had said in the official Twitter handle. The tweet further stated that, “All PAN holders, who do not come under the exempt category as per Notification No. 37/2017 dated 17th May 2017 and have not linked their aadhaar with PAN yet, are requested to do so immediately.
PAN can be linked with aadhaar on www.incometax.gov.in after paying a fee of Rs. 1,000.” Individuals who have not yet linked their PAN with Aadhar can visit the Income Tax Portal to complete the linking at the earliest. If you are unsure of your PAN-Aadhar linking status, visit the official PAN Aadhaar Linking Check website to verify the same. You need to have your PAN, Aadhar number and Date of Birth handy to link and verify the status.
Notably, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the Budget Speech of 2023 had said that, Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be used as a common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies, in a move to help in further promoting ease of doing business in the country.
