Link your PAN card with Aadhaar by December 31 or face these risks
The deadline to link Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar ends on December 31. The deadline for PAN Card-Aadhaar linking was extended for the seventh time. All PAN card holders are advised to link the two documents online or via SMS, otherwise they might just land themselves in trouble.
Risks if you don't link PAN card-Aadhaar
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will declare all PAN cards that are not linked to Aadhaar as "invalid" or not in use. According to the Income Tax Department: "In case of failure to intimate the Aadhaar number, PAN allotted to the person shall be deemed to be invalid and other provisions of this Act shall apply, as if the person had not applied for allotment of PAN.
- As per the Finance Bill, PAN cards not linked to Aadhaar will become "inoperative" after the December 31 deadline comes to an end.
- There is also a possibility that the income tax department revives such inoperative PAN cards later on after linking with Aadhaar is done. However, it is still advisable to link PAN Card and Aaadhaar since there is not much clarity on the revival clause.
How to link PAN with Aadhaar:
- You can link PAN with Aadhaar through the income tax e-filing portal or through SMS. You have to submit PAN, Aadhaar number and name by clicking on the 'Link Aadhaar' section. A OTP will then be sent on your mobile phone.
- You can also use the SMS facility. Send an SMS to either 567678 or 56161 in the following format: UIDPAN
<12 digit Aadhaar> <10 digit PAN - Your details such as name, gender, date of birth should be exactly the same in both PAN and Aadhaar for linking the two documents.
- If at all there is a minor mismatch in Aadhaar name when compared to the original data in Aadhaar, a one-time password (Aadhaar OTP) will be sent to the mobile number registered with Aadhaar. However, the PAN-Aadhaar might fail in case the name in Aadhaar card is completely different from the name mentioned in PAN. You will then have to change the name in either Aadhaar or in PAN database.
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