The Central Government of India has extended the last date for linking the Aadhaar card with PAN. The final date has been extended from the 31st of March 2021 to the 30th of June 2021. Several struggles that have arisen out of the COVID 19 pandemic have forced the government to further extend this deadline.
Earlier the Indian government had announced that a fine of Rs.1000/- would be imposed on all individuals who failed to link their PAN and Aadhaar by March 31st, 2021. This decision was based on the new section introduced in the Financial Bill of 2021- Section 234H. Besides, the government had also decided to deactivate the PAN cards of those individuals who did not link it with their Aadhaar number before the 31st of March which was the proposed deadline earlier.
The IT Department (Income Tax Department) of India decided to further extend the last date of linking Aadhaar to PAN after receiving several representations from taxpayers in India requesting to extend the deadline. The requests were submitted asking the authorities to take into consideration the COVID 19 pandemic and related struggles.
Aadhaar And PAN
Issued by the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) the Aadhaar contains a unique 12 digit number for identification. This ID card also holds the personal details of the individual along with her/his demographic and biometric information. Today the Aadhaar serves as one of the most important documents to prove the identity of an Indian resident or an Indian citizen.
Aadhaar online KYC is carried out by most entities to verify and confirm the identity of an individual in India. The process of online KYC or eKYC done through Aadhaar authentication is now mandatory to receive governmental benefits and subsidies as well as for customer identification and onboarding. Allotted by the Income Tax Department of India to Indian citizens and residents, the PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a unique alpha-numeric code of 10 digits. The CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) oversees the issuing of PAN cards by the IT Department of India.
Today the PAN card is mandatory for all major financial transactions happening in our country including buying a property, a vehicle, and/or other assets, to receive salary/ wages that are taxable, and for buying shares and mutual funds. Besides, the individual can also use her/his PAN as a document for identification.
Linking PAN With Aadhaar
You can easily link your PAN with your Aadhaar online. This can be done by logging in to the official e-filing website of the Income Tax Department. This website allows its users to link their PAN and Aadhaar numbers using a simple tool.
You can also link your Aadhaar and PAN by logging on to the official website of the NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited).
How To Check If Your Aadhaar Is Linked To Your PAN?
Following the below steps given below to see if your Aadhaar and PAN and is already linked:
Visit this page
Enter your 10 digit PAN Number.
Enter your 12 digits Aadhaar Number.
Click on the button View Link Aadhaar Status.
The status of your Aadhaar and PAN link will be displayed on the screen.
Linking your PAN with your Aadhaar is important for several reasons.
You cannot file for your Income Tax returns unless your PAN and Aadhaar are linked.
This will help in tackling the problem of issuing more than one PAN card in the same individual’s name.
Make sure you link your PAN and Aadhaar on or before June 30th to prevent your PAN from being deactivated.