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Aadhaar-PAN card link deadline: Will it affect non-resident Indians?

The deadline for the linkage is March 31, following which the PAN card will become inoperative

Published: Fri 10 Mar 2023, 5:32 PM

Updated: Tue 28 Mar 2023, 4:25 PM

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[Editor's note: An update to this story has been published on March 28. Click here to read]

The Income Tax department in India has issued an urgent advisory urging all taxpayers to link their permanent account number (PAN) with their Aadhaar by March 31, 2023, failing which the PAN card will become inoperative from April 1, 2023.

“As per Income-tax Act, 1961, it is mandatory for all PAN card 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," said an official notification.

However, some categories of citizens are exempted from the rule. Indian residents staying or working abroad (NRIs) are also included in the list.

Exemptions to the linkage rule:

As per a notification issued earlier by India’s Finance Ministry, there are four categories that are exempted from the PAN-Aadhaar link.

1. A non-resident as per the Income-tax Act of 1961

2. Not a citizen of India.

3. Of the age of 80 years or more at any time during the previous year;

4. Residents of Assam, Meghalaya and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir

A circular issued earlier by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said 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, according to a news report.

The person cannot file I-T return using the inoperative PAN; pending returns will not be processed; pending refunds cannot be issued to inoperative PANs; pending proceedings as in the case of defective returns cannot be completed once the PAN is inoperative and tax will be required to be deducted at a higher rate, the report further stated.

What is a PAN card?

A PAN enables the tax authority to identify/ link all transactions of the card holder with the department. These transactions include tax payments, TDS/TCS credits, returns of income, specified transactions, correspondence etc, and so on. It facilitates easy retrieval of information of the holder and matching of various investments, borrowings and other business activities of the holder.

What is an Aadhaar card?

Aadhaar is a 12-digit number given by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to the residents of India after a certain verification process. It works as proof of identity and is mandatory for Indian residents. As per the Aadhaar Act, 2016, a resident is a person who has been living in India for a period of 182 days or more in the preceding 12 months. This means a Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), PIOs or OCI cardholder, who has been staying in the country for a minimum of 182 days in 12 months has to apply for an Aadhaar number.

NRIs can also apply for Aadhaar card by physically visiting an Aadhaar Enrolment Centre in India. It can be useful for non-residents who have sources of income in the country.

For more details, visit eportal.incometax.gov.in or incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

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