PAN Cards Not Linked To Aadhaar Will Become ‘Inoperative’ After March 31

The Aadhaar card and PAN card are two of the most crucial identification documents that one must have to seamlessly conduct bank transitions

The Aadhaar card and PAN card are two of the most crucial identification documents that one must have to seamlessly conduct any bank transitions. The government of India made it mandatory for all its citizens to link their PAN Card and Aadhaar card a few years ago and has been extending the deadline for many times now. That will not be the case after March 31 next year.

The Income Tax department on December 24 issued an advisory that the Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) which are not yet linked with their Aadhaar by the end of March 2023 will be deemed as “inoperative". Originally set to expire on March 31, 2020, PAN-Aadhaar linkage has been extended by the Center till March 31, 2023.

The advisory read, “As per Income-tax Act, 1961, it is mandatory for all PAN holders, who do not fall under the exempt category, to link their PAN with Aadhaar before March 31, 2023. From April 1, 2023, the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative. What is mandatory, is necessary. Don’t delay, link it today!"

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which establishes policy for the Income Tax department, stated in a circular that once a PAN becomes inoperative on March 30, an individual will be responsible for all consequences under the I-T Act and will have to deal with a number of repercussions, including not being able to file I-T returns and not having any outstanding returns processed, among other things.

According to a notification released by the Union Finance Ministry in May 2017, the “exempt category" consists of people who live in the states of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya; who are considered non-residents under the Income-tax Act, 1961; who were 80 years of age or older at any point in the previous year and who are not Indian citizens.