The Income Tax Department on Wednesday said non-linking of PAN with Aadhaar by March 31 would attract penalty of up to Rs 1,000, but such PAN will remain functional for one more year till March 2023, for filing ITR, claiming refunds and other I-T procedures.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which is the apex decision making body on direct taxes, has extended the deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar many times and the last date now is March 31, 2022.
As per a circular issued by CBDT on Wednesday, PAN, not linked to Aadhaar, would become "inoperative" after March 31, 2023. Those taxpayers who link their PAN with biometric Aadhaar by June 30, 2022, would be required to pay late fees of Rs 500. Beyond that, the penalty would rise to Rs 1,000.
Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to tax authorities. Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to a resident of India and PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the I-T department to a person, firm or entity. The CBDT, that frames policy for the tax department, said a notification numbered 107 has been issued in this context.
A registered user on income tax e-filing website:
In case you are already filing tax returns, there is a possibility that your PAN is already linked with Aadhaar only if you have mentioned it while filing an ITR in the previous assessment years.
You can check if your Aadhaar and PAN are linked on www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
All you need to do this is that login to the website entering PAN, password and your date of birth. After logging in, click on 'profile settings' and select'link Aadhaar'. Once you follow the steps, you will receive a confirmation message that your PAN and Aadhaar are now linked.
If you are a non-registered user
Another way, without registering on the website, you can use the hyperlink provided on the homepage of the website.
Click on Link Aadhaar on the e-filing website and a new form will appear. You are required to enter your PAN and Aadhaar details. You will receive a confirmation message once you have submitted all the details.
Other methods include;
Send an SMS to PAN service providers
You can use this method if you are unable to link through the website. Earlier, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in its notification dated June 29, 2017, had provided other ways to link the both.
You can send an SMS to the PAN service provider (NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited or UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited) on 567678 or 56161.
This is the format that has to be used;
UIDPAN<SPACE><12 digit Aadhaar><SPACE><10 digit PAN>
Manual linking
Here, you have to visit a servicecentre of PAN service provider and fill a 'Annexure-I' form and submit a copy of PAN card and Aadhaar card.
While online service are free of cost, if you opt for manual linking, you may have to shell out some money. The fee depends on whether, during the process, correction is made to the PAN or Aadhaar details. In order to make corrections to the PAN details, a fee of Rs 110 is levied while to make any changes in the Aadhaar details, Rs 25 will be levied.
