Link your PAN and Aadhaar by June 30: Here's all you need to know

PAN is essential when it comes to filling tax returns and making investments in mutual funds and stocks, here how to ensure your cards are linked

The income tax department of India has announced that June 30 would be the deadline for citizens to link their Aadhaar cards with their PAN cards. The income tax department added that failure to do this will result in the respective PAN cards becoming in-operative on July 1.
 

The initial deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar had been March 31, 2023, which had been extended to June 30. 

While the deadline has been extended several times in the past, should the PAN be deactivated users may lose access to mutual funds and stock investment. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) rules, this linkage is required for investment purposes. Furthermore, income tax returns cannot be filed without the PAN.
 

The PAN may be reactivated after the deadline; however, it would come with a penalty fee of Rs 1,000.
 

Exceptions to this rule include, “those residing in specified states, a non-resident as per the Act, 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,” as stated by the income tax department in a circular issued in March 2023.

Please follow these steps to link the Aadhaar to PAN. You can check whether this has already been done by visiting the e-filing portal:

1. Visit the e-filing portal 
2. Enter PAN and Aadhaar details
3. If the two are linked, no further action is needed
4. If not, log into www.incometax.gov.in using PAN as the user ID
5. Go to e-file > e-pay tax > New payment
6. Choose 'income tax' tab, select assessment year 2024-25  
7. Select ‘Other receipts (500)’ and continue
8. Rs 1,000 will be the filled in amount, click on continue
9. Choose your bank account and proceed to payment
10. You can download the receipt by clicking on e-File > e-Pay Tax > Payment History
11. Now, click on the ‘Link Aadhaar’ tab on left hand side menu of the e-filing portal’s homepage
12. Enter your PAN and Aadhaar and validate the information