PAN, Aadhaar Not Yet Linked? Be Prepared To Pay Double Penalty From Today

PAN cards which are not linked with Aadhaar will remain functional till March 2023 for filing ITR, claiming refunds and other I-T procedures

Those PAN cardholders who haven't yet linked their PAN with Aadhaar will now have to pay Rs 1,000 fine. Earlier, the penalty amount was Rs 500. The fine will be imposed under section 234H of the Income Tax Act.  However, such PAN cards will remain functional for one more year till March 2023 for filing ITR, claiming refunds and other I-T procedures. You can still link PAN and Aadhaar after paying the late fee.

“Fees to be paid by Challan No ITNS 280 with Major head 0021 (Income Tax Other than Companies) & Minor head 500 (Fee),” said the income tax department.

Why should you link PAN-Aadhaar card?

In failure to seed PAN card with the 12-digit unique identity number or Aadhaar number, the PAN card becomes inoperative and the individual will be unable to invest in mutual funds, stocks, open a bank account, etc where furnishing a PAN card is a must. Moreover, if the person produces an invalid PAN Card, the Assessing Officer may direct such person to pay a sum of Rs 10,000 as penalty.

Steps to link PAN card with an Aadhaar card through I-T portal

Firstly, open the income tax e-filing portal: incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

Then register on the portal with the PAN number as the user ID.

Log into with the help of user id, password, and date of birth.

You can see a pop-up window to link PAN with Aadhaar.

If the window does not appear then visit the 'profile settings' on the Menu bar and click on 'Link Aadhaar'.

Verify the PAN details on the screen with the ones mentioned on Aadhaar.

If the details match, you can enter Aadhaar number and click on the "link now" button.

You can see a message informing that Aadhaar has been successfully linked to your PAN.

You can also link PAN with Aadhaar through egov-nsdl.co.in.

You can also link through SMS. Type UIDPAN<12 digit Aadhaar><10 digit PAN>. The message can be sent to 567678 or 56161.

Visit PAN service centres: A form named ‘Annexure-I’ needs to be filled and submitted along with a copy of the PAN card and Aadhaar card. This will be a paid service.