PAN Card Misuse Scam Grips India: Vulnerable Groups Targeted In Rising Fraud Cases

In an alarming incident, a Mumbai based homemaker and senior citizen found herself embroiled in a legal battle up to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) over the misuse of her PAN card, according to the Times of India (TOI) report.

She received a tax notice alleging that she sold a property worth Rs 1.3 crore in 2010-11, treating this as her income. Moreover, being illiterate and suffering from cancer, she was unable to the tax notices, which lead to further complications, as per the TOI report.

At the recent ITAT hearing, her counsel argued that her PAN card has been misused in the property registration. Furthermore, the ITAT also noted that the tax officer had failed to conduct an independent inquiry to verify the transaction details, such as obtaining information from the property registrar and the buyer, reported TOI.

Scams targeting the vulnerable and deceased

Recent reports have highlighted a rise in PAN card misuse across India, especially targeting vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, the deceased, farmers, and so on.

The misuse of these ID cards not only causes financial and legal problems but also poses a major challenge to the country's financial system.

Understanding PAN Card Fraud

PAN card fraud typically involves the unauthorised use of an individual's PAN for illegal activities, such as opening bank accounts, applying for loans, executing fraudulent transactions or even or even committing identity theft.

A particularly insidious form of PAN card misuse involves the identities of deceased individuals. Since the death of a PAN holder does not automatically deactivate the PAN card, it remains vulnerable to misuse.

It is therefore important that the family members or legal heirs of the deceased must notify the jurisdictional assessing officer and they need to provide the PAN card along with the death certificate to have the death marked against the PAN card, to prevent the misuse of deceased's PAN card .