7 IT firms line up for biometric PAN cards

Over the next few months, taxpayers will start getting biometric permanent account number (PAN) cards that capture their fingerprints and facial features, marking the start of an exercise the finance ministry has been talking about for at least three years.

The development has elicited huge response from the country’s top information technology companies. At least seven players including Infosys, HCL, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and its subsidiary CMC are in the fray to develop a biometric card and the infrastructure that can handle 12 million new users annually.

Others shortlisted for the request-for-proposal (RFP) stage include Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), ITI and Bharat Electronics (BEL). Some of the players have negotiated tie-ups with other service providers but the details of these were not readily available.

The income tax department is pushing for a biometric card to ensure that an individual does not have more than one PAN. The move comes at a time when the government is also working on a project for a national identity card, on the lines of the US social security number, and has already allocated Rs 100 crore for it.

To begin with, the government proposes to issue biometric cards to new applicants and those seeking a re-issue. But over a period of time, old cardholders are also proposed to be enrolled into the new system.

According to documents made available to the bidders, the government intends to capture fingerprints of four fingers of an individual — two from each hand — and the facial image, with the eyes clearly visible. After much deliberation, the tax department has dropped plans to capture the image of the iris, a senior official said.

The bidders have also been asked to ensure that the digital image of the application and documents submitted as proof are also captured in some form.

Along with the card, there are plans to spruce up the PAN issuance infrastructure. Bidders have been asked to ensure that they set up points of service for 10 hours a day, six days a week. A mobile facility that ensures “at-your-doorstep” service has also been planned, officials said. A call centre that works for at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, along with a national helpline number and an online facility have also been proposed.

The tax department also wants the service provider to ensure that new PAN cards are issued within 20 days.

The proposed system is being designed to handle 70 million PAN records and handle 100,000 applications a day.

There is, however, no clarity on who would bear the cost of the card, which at present costs Rs 67.