The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked all taxpayers to link their permanent account numbers (PAN) with their Aadhaar by March 31, 2023. However, now this date has been extended to 30 June 2023. Pan card is required to be linked with Aadhaar, if you do not complete the process, then your pan card will become inoperative.

If you do not link PAN card with Aadhaar, then Rs 500 as a penalty will be deducted after 31st March and Rs. 1000 will be taken as a charge after 3 months i.e. after June 30.

Now, if your pan card will become inactive, none of your transactions related to money will be able to get complete. It is possible that any payment related to your bank may get stuck.

Why has the government become so strict to link PAN and Aadhaar??

Tax base will increase due to PAN and Aadhaar link.

The difference between PAN cardholders and return filers is a major reason for this strictness of the government. About 60 crore people in India have PAN, but only 7 crore people have filed income tax return. This gap can be reduced by linking PAN and Aadhaar.

Aadhaar card is such an identity proof that cannot be duplicated, but people can show their wrong income by different names by making duplicate PAN card. If PAN and Aadhaar are linked, then this fraud can be avoided. Misuse of Aadhaar and PAN card, and tax evasion, can be reduced. By this people who misuse Aadhaar card and take subsidy even when it is not needed, can be caught.

Who does not need to link PAN with Aadhaar?

* Anyone aged 80 years and above;

* A non-resident as per the Income-tax Act;

* A person who is not a citizen of India.

What will happen if PAN card is not linked with Aadhaar card?

If you do not link PAN card with Aadhaar then you will be deprived of many services.

Will not be able to take advantage of many government schemes

Will not be able to file income tax return

Tax refund will get stuck

Will not be able to open bank account

Will not be able to issue a credit card

Will become difficult to invest in mutual funds and stocks

Benefits of linking PAN-Aadhaar

Linking of PAN card with an Aadhaar gives Income Tax an audit trail of all transactions. An audit trail is a sequential record detailing the history and events related to a specific transaction or ledger entry.

After linking PAN card with Aadhaar, it will be easier to file ITR. There will be no need to submit receipt or e-signature after linking.

It will be easy to track transactions after PAN-Aadhaar linking.

PAN-Aadhaar linking will end the problem of fraud.

Tax evasion will be curbed.

After linking PAN-Aadhaar, you will be able to file your return with Aadhaar card also.

For buying a property or buying a car, Aadhaar will work in place of PAN.

PAN is required for transactions above Rs 50,000. Once Aadhaar is linked, your work will also be done with Aadhaar.

After linking, with the help of Aadhaar card, you will be able to buy gold worth more than five lakh rupees.

How to Link your PAN with Aadhaar You can link your PAN with Aadhaar by following process:

a) Open the Income Tax e-filing portal - https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/

b) Register on it (if not already done). Your PAN (Permanent Account Number) will be your user id.

c) Log in by entering the User ID, password and date of birth.

d) A pop up window will appear, prompting you to link your PAN with Aadhaar. If not, go to ‘Profile Settings’ on Menu bar and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’.

e) Details such as name date of birth and gender will already be mentioned as per the PAN details.

f) Verify the PAN details on screen with the ones mentioned on your Aadhaar. Pls. note that if there is a mismatch, you need to get the same corrected in either of the documents.

g) If the details match, enter your Aadhaar number and click on the “link now” button.

h) A pop-up message will inform you that your Aadhaar has been successfully linked to your PAN

i) You may also visit https://www.utiitsl.com/ OR https://www.egov-nsdl.co.in/ to link your PAN and Aadhaar.

You can get your Aadhaar and PAN card linked by just sending an SMS.

All you need is to type UIDPAN_AADHAR NUMBER_PAN NUMBER and send it to 567678 or 56161.

Hope this post helps you understand the true information. For more such reliable news and updates, stay tuned with Step Up Academy.