The government on Tuesday extended the deadline to link the Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar by three months to June 30, 2023.
PAN cards which are not linked with Aadhaar will become inoperative from July 1. Also, there is a Rs 1,000 penalty applicable for linking PAN with Aadhaar. The last date for linking PAN with Aadhaar without penalty was March 31, 2022.
As per a notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), PAN of taxpayers who fail to link it with their Aadhaar number will become inoperative from July 1, 2023.
The failure to link PAN with Aadhaar by June 30 will attract certain repercussions: No refund shall be made against such PANs, interest shall not be payable on such refund for the period during which PAN remains inoperative; and TDS (tax deducted at source) and TCS (tax collected at source) shall be deducted /collected at higher rates, according to a statement issued by the finance ministry.
However, even after June 30, 2023 deadline, the PAN can be made operative again in 30 days, upon intimation of Aadhaar to the prescribed authority after payment of Rs 1,000 fine.
Some categories of individuals have been exempted from PAN-Aadhaar linkage, and thus they will not be liable to the consequences.
Person who are exempted from PAN-Aadhaar linkage requirements include individuals residing in the states/UTs of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya; a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961,an individual who is not a citizen of India or individuals of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.
According to the government data, over 51 crore PANs have already been linked with Aadhaar.
Aadhaar-PAN linking was free till 31st March 2022. Those who linked their PAN with Aadhaar between 1st April 2022 and 30th June 2022, paid a penalty of Rs 500. From 1st July 2022 the penalty amount has been increased to Rs 1,000.
Under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 every person who has been allotted a PAN as on 1st July, 2017 and is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar Number, is required to intimate his/her Aadhaar to the prescribed authority, the finance ministry said.