'PAN not linked with Aadhaar by end-March to be rendered inoperative'

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department Saturday issued an advisory that those permanent account numbers (PAN) which are not linked with Aadhaar by the end of March next year will be rendered “inoperative”.

“What is mandatory, is necessary. Don’t delay, link it today!” the department said.

“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 31.3.2023. From 1.04.2023, the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative,” the advisory said.

The ‘exempt category’, according to a notification issued by the Union Finance Ministry in May 2017, are those individuals residing in the states of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya; a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961; of the age of 80 years or more at any time during the previous year and a person not a citizen of India.

Once a PAN becomes inoperative, an individual shall be liable to all the consequences under the I-T Act and will have to suffer a number of implications.

The person shall not be able to file I-T return using inoperative PAN; pending returns will not be processed; pending refunds cannot be issued to inoperative PANs; and pending proceedings in case of defective returns cannot be completed.