From the next financial year starting from April 1, 2023, your PAN Card could become inoperative if you fail to link it with your Aadhaar by March 31. Becoming inoperative means that you will not be able to use your PAN. The deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar has been extended several times in the past. The latest deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking is March 31, 2023.
“As per Income-tax Act, 1961, it is mandatory for all PAN holders, who do not come under the exempt category, to link their PAN with Aadhaar before 31.3.2023. From 1.4.2023, the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative. Link it before it’s too late,” the Income Tax Department said in a tweet.
The two documents can be linked by paying a penalty of Rs 1,000. The linking was free until March 31, 2022, when the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had extended the deadline to link the two documents. Residents had to pay a late fee of Rs 500 until June 30, 2022.
Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act provides that every individual who has been allotted a PAN as on July 1, 2017, and who is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar number, shall intimate the latter in the prescribed form and manner. In other words, such persons have to mandatorily link their Aadhaar and PAN before the prescribed date (31.03.2022 without fee payment and 31.03.2023 with prescribed fee payment), according to the Income Tax department.
Who is exempt from Aadhaar-PAN linking?
It may be noted that Aadhaar-PAN linkage requirement does not apply to any individual who is residing in the States of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya; a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961; and of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.
Step-by-step guide to link your PAN with Aadhaar:
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. 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.
