Govt makes PAN linking with Aadhaar mandatory from July 1

All PAN card holders will have to link the income tax permanent account number with their 12- digit biometric identifier Aadhaar from July 1, a government notification said.
Also, Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment ID will have to be mandatorily quoted while applying for PAN as well as for filing of income tax returns.
The notification issued yesterday amended the Income-tax Rules of 1962 to state that "every person who has been allotted permanent account number (PAN) as on the 1st day of July, 2017 and who in accordance with the provisions is required to intimate his Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number" to the income tax authorities.

Further, a new column for quoting of Aadhaar number has been provided for in Form 49A which is used for applying for PAN.
Quoting of PAN, and recently Aadhaar, is mandatory for opening of bank accounts and cash transactions beyond a threshold.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in the Budget for 2017-18 fiscal made quoting of Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns as also linking of PAN with Aadhaar to check tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month upheld the validity of an I-T Act provision making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN cards and for income tax return (ITR), but had put a partial stay on its implementation till a Constitution bench addressed the issue of right to privacy.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the revenue department has notified amendments to the income tax rules dealing in PAN application, which will come into effect from July 1, 2017.
The department said PAN holder has to intimate his Aadhaar number to the principal director general of income tax (systems) or DGIT (systems).
Besides, it entrusted principal DGIT (systems) or DGIT (systems) with specifying the format and standard along with procedure for verification of documents filed with PAN application or intimation of Aadhaar.
As many as 2.07 crore taxpayers have already linked their Aadhaar with PAN.
There are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country while Aadhaar has been issued to 115 crore people.

Referring to the Supreme Court ruling, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy-making body for the I-T department, had then said the linking of Aadhaar and PAN will be a "must" for filing of income tax returns (ITR) and obtaining PAN from July 1.
The apex court order had only given a "partial relief" to those who do not have an Aadhaar or an Aadhaar enrolment ID, and the taxman, hence, "will not cancel" the PAN of such individuals, it had ruled.
"Only a partial relief by the court has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled so that other consequences under the I-T Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise," the CBDT had said.

While Aadhaar is a biometric authentication issued by the UIDAI, PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number alloted by the I-T department to individuals and entities.