The income tax department wants to reduce the manual work regarding e-filing and to reduce the tax evasion. As per the notification issued by the IT department, linking of Aadhaar Card with the PAN is compulsory for every assessee.
Updates:
- As per CBDT circular F.No. 370142/14/22-TPL dated on 30th March 2022, every person who has been allotted a PAN as of 1st July 2017 and is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar number is required to link PAN with AADHAAR on or before 31st March 2022.
- Taxpayers who failed to do so are liable to pay a fee of Rs.500 till 30th June 2022 and thereafter a fee of Rs.1000 will be applicable before submission of the PAN-AADHAAR linkage request.
- Please pay the application fee on the ‘https://onlineservices.tin.egov-nsdl.com/etaxnew/tdsnontds.jsp’ Protean (NSDL) portal to proceed with the submission of the Aadhaar-PAN linking request. Click on Proceed under CHALLAN NO./ITNS 280 for submission of the Aadhaar-PAN linking request.
- In case payment is already done on the Protean (NSDL) portal, please try linking after 4-5 working days from the date of payment.
Please make sure fee payment is done under Minor head 500 (Fee) and Major head 0021 [Income Tax (Other than Companies)] in a single challan.
Link PAN Card with Aadhar Card Here – Direct Link
Let’s have a look on the process of linking Aadhaar card with PAN in this article.
The IT department has not put any restriction on filing of Income tax return without linking the Aadhaar card with PAN but the Income tax return will not be processed by the department until the Aadhaar card is linked with the PAN. Every person has to visit the e-filing website of the department to link Aadhaar Card with the PAN. The process of the linking Aadhaar Card with the PAN is made very easy by the department. Moreover, it does not require to login at the e-filing website. There are two ways to linking the Aadhaar Card with PAN.
#1. Without registering or logging in to the E-filing Account.
Step 1: Visit to the official e-filing website at https://eportal.incometax.gov.in/iec/foservices/#/pre-login/bl-link-aadhaar and fill all the columns as given in the image like PAN, Aadhaar number, name and mobile number.
Step 2: After entering all the information click on checkbox as required. Now, click on Link Aadhaar. That’s it!
Note: If there is any mismatch in the Aadhaar name provided, it could be verified through the Aadhaar OTP. The details of PAN and Aadhaar Card such as date of birth, gender should be same for the successful verification.
In case if the name in the Aadhaar card and the PAN are different, the process of linking will fail and the person has to get his name change in the Aadhaar Card or in PAN.
#2. Through SMS
Aadhaar Card can also be linked to PAN through SMS. The IT department wants to encourage the person to link Aadhaar with PAN, so to ease the process linking through SMS is also possible. SMS need to send either on 567678 or 56161.
Send SMS to these numbers from registered mobile number in given format:
UIDPAN<SPACE><12 digit Aadhaar Number><SPACE><10 digit PAN>
Example: UIDPAN 123456789876 AAAAA1111Q.
The main motive of the government behind the linking of both the numbers is:
- Preventing Tax Evasion: Government can keep the record of all the transactions of an individual, making it difficult to evade the tax as the identity and the address will be verified through Aadhaar Card.
- Detect Multiple PAN holders: Multiple PAN are taken by some people to evade the tax. The individuals having multiple PAN can be traced as govt. could trace the identity of an individual through Aadhaar Card.
- Ease in filing of ITR: The individuals who has linked the both the numbers can e-verify the tax return and thus does not need to send the acknowledgment to the department.
You should also read the following articles regarding PAN: –
- Know Your PAN by DOB, Surname and Mobile Number
- Reactivate PAN if Wrongly Deactivated – Over 11 Lakh PAN Deactivated
FAQ on Aadhar Card Linking with PAN
How to link Aadhaar with PAN?
If your Aadhaar number isn’t yet linked with PAN then every time you login on e-filing portal you, you shall be shown a popup message asking you to link Aadhaar with PAN. Use the link given in the pop-up window to link the Aadhaar with PAN.
Alternatively, you can also follow the below steps to link Aadhaar with PAN:
- Login to e-filing portal https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
- Go to ‘Profile Settings’ and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’
- Enter your ‘Aadhaar number’, ‘Name as per Aadhaar’ and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’. In case you Aadhaar Card is carrying just year of birth then you have to check on the option on ‘I have only year of birth in Aadhaar Card’.
- You are also required to give consent to validate Aadhaar details with UIDAI in order to complete process of linking.
- If the details as per PAN and Aadhaar are same, the linking shall be done automatically.
What are the different modes to link Aadhaar with PAN?
It is mandatory to link Aadhaar number with PAN to file income tax return. Government has prescribed following modes to link Aadhaar number with PAN:
SMS
- Send SMS to 567678 or 56161 from your registered mobile number in the following format:
- Send SMS to 567678 or 56161 from your registered mobile number in the following format:
- UIDPAN <SPACE> <12 Digit Aadhaar Number><SPACE><10 Digit PAN>
- For E.g., UIDPAN 123456789000 EPOPE1234E
Online
- By visiting the website of the PAN Service providers (i.e., www.tin-nsdl.com or www.utiitsl.com). Click on the button ‘Link Aadhaar to PAN’ which will direct you to the income-tax website.
- By visiting directly the e-filing website (i.e., www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in).
Paper Mode
- File one page Form along with minimal fee with the designated PAN centre. Copies of PAN card, Aadhaar card are to be furnished.
How can I link my Aadhaar number with PAN if there is minor mismatch in my name appearing in Aadhaar and PAN?
Earlier, Income-tax Dept. was allowing linking of Aadhaar Number with PAN if there was minor mismatch in the name appearing in PAN compared to the name appearing in Aadhaar Card. Identity of taxpayers were verified by sending One Time Password (OTP) to mobile number registered with UIDAI.
However, with effect from 01-12-2017 UIDAI has discontinued the practice of verifying the user’s identity with OTP. Therefore, Aadhaar number cannot be linked with PAN if there is any mismatch in the name entry in the records of Aadhaar and PAN. Taxpayers are required to rectify either of the documents, PAN or Aadhaar, so as to complete the process of linking these two records.
Why am I not able to link my Aadhaar with PAN, though my name as per Aadhaar and PAN is same?
There are certain reasons due to which a taxpayer might not be able to link his Aadhaar number with his PAN. Some of the reasons are:
- Phone number of taxpayer is not updated in Aadhaar database: Taxpayers cannot link their Aadhaar number with PAN if their phone number is not updated in the Aadhaar database. In this case taxpayers are required to visit the Aadhaar Facilitating Center to update their phone number in Aadhaar database.
- Gender Mismatch: In case of gender mismatch, taxpayers won’t be able to link Aadhaar with PAN. In this case, taxpayers are required to change the gender either in Aadhaar database or in PAN database.
- Date of birth: Aadhaar won’t be linked to PAN in case there is mismatch in date of birth of the taxpayer. However, taxpayers whose Aadhaar Card contains only the Year of Birth and it matches with the PAN records, linking of these two documents would not be difficult.
Whether my PAN will be treated as invalid if I do not link my Aadhaar number with PAN?
As per proviso to Sec 139AA(2), in case assessee fails to intimate the Aadhaar Number, the PAN allotted to the person shall be treated as invalid and the other provisions of this Act shall apply, as if the person had not been allotted PAN.
However, in case of Binoy Viswam v. Union of India the Supreme Court has partially stayed the operation of Proviso to Section 139AA(2). It held that if the assessee does not hold the Aadhaar number then PAN should not be considered invalid. However, if assessee is holding Aadhaar number he must intimate it to the Department.
Your PAN will be treated as invalid if you do not link it with Aadhaar number as the Apex Court has given relief in those cases where taxpayers did not possess Aadhaar number.
I do not have Aadhaar number. Whether my PAN will be treated as invalid if I do not link my PAN with Aadhaar number?
As per proviso to Sec 139AA(2), in case assessee fails to intimate the Aadhaar Number, the PAN allotted to the person shall be treated as invalid and the other provisions of this Act shall apply, as if the person had not been allotted PAN.
In the case of Binoy Viswam v. Union of India the Supreme Court has partially stayed the operation of Proviso to Section 139AA(2). It held that if the assessee does not have the Aadhaar number then PAN should not be considered as invalid.
Your PAN will not be treated as invalid if you do not link it with Aadhaar number as you do not possess Aadhaar number.
I cannot get my Aadhaar number by the end of due date of filing Income-tax Return. How can I file ITR without linking Aadhaar with PAN?
E-filing website doesn’t allow filing of ITR without linking Aadhaar number with PAN. However, recently, the Kerala and Gujarat High Courts in the cases of Prasanth Sugathan v. UOI and Bandish Saurabh Soparkar v. UOI respectively allowed taxpayers to file their returns manually without furnishing the Aadhaar number or enrollment ID of Aadhaar application form. The Courts held that taxpayers who do not have Aadhaar have to be allowed to file their returns before department in hard copy for relevant year as an interim measure. However, it would not be obligatory for department to process such returns and Dept. may demand the Aadhaar number from the taxpayers while processing such returns.
Therefore, it is suggested that you should file the ITR manually by visiting jurisdictional income-tax office by relying on the above judgement. A covering letter should also be attached with the ITR mentioning that the taxpayer has opted to file the return manually relying on the aforesaid High Court Cases. You are also required to mention the reason why Aadhaar number couldn’t be obtained before the end of due date of filing of ITR.
However, you are required to link their Aadhaar number with PAN as and when available so as to enable income-tax dept. to process their ITRs filed.
PAN Validation Tool – Check PAN Format Valid or Not?
This info was good i.e. if you have AC. However, you have not addressed the issue of NRIs who do not have Aadhar Card and are unable to obtain it overseas. In this case how are they going to file the IT returns? Can you please explain? Thanks – Oswald