Since Covid-19 pandemic, around half a million trusts added to PAN data

Nearly 500,000 additional permanent account number (PAN) allotments have been made to trusts between March 2019 and March 2025.

 

Allotments to trusts rose from 847,834 in 2019 to 1.3 million as of March 2025, show statistics from the Income Tax Department, released earlier in April.

 

This represents a 56 per cent rise. Trust registration happens at both national and state levels. This means there is sometimes limited centralised data on trust formation which is reported upon, unlike say, the number of companies formed. The PAN allotments provide some indication of activity in the segment. Higher requirements on tax compliance, spending