The Income Tax Department (ITD) has launched an Aadhaar based e-PAN card allotment service. The PAN is unique to an individual or entity and is valid everywhere across India.
Index
- What is e-PAN?
- Eligibility Criteria
- Application Process
- e-PAN card status
- Documents Required for e-PAN Application
What is e-PAN Card?
It is a digitally signed PAN card issued by the Income Tax Department (ITD) in an electronic format using Aadhaar e-KYC. Furthermore, it was introduced to ease the application filing process for the PAN card.
The e-PAN can be used interchangeably with the physical PAN card & will have the same number. PAN is required to file Income Tax Returns (ITR) and all related transactions with the ITD. Anyone with valid Aadhaar allotted by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) can apply for e-PAN.
Additionally, the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) had issued a notification stating that the e-PAN card should be accepted everywhere as a valid government proof.
Eligibility for e-PAN card
- An individual must be an Indian resident.
- The applicant must be an individual and not a company or a member of the HUF.
- The individual must-have an Aadhaar Card.
- The applicant must have a valid mobile number linked to their Aadhaar card.
- The details on the Aadhaar card of the applicant must be verified.
- The applicant shouldn’t already have a PAN card.
Therefore, it is available for existing PAN cardholders if they have applied for a reprint of changes which is confirmed by the Income Tax Department within 30 days of the submission of the application.
e-PAN Card Application Process
The application can be made through two portals:
- the NSDL website or,
- the UTIITSL portal
Furthermore, it is available for free of cost to:
- new applicants
- who have applied for any changes/corrections in their PAN details within a month of it being issued
Applicants who had applied for their PAN card through the NSDL portal in the past can download e-PAN through the same portal. Applicants can also apply via the UTI portal by first applying for a PAN reprint before they submit an application to download the e-PAN.
e-PAN Card on UTI Portal
The download facility on this website is available for users who have:
- Applied for fresh PAN or applied for the latest change/correction update with UTIITSL
- Earlier registered a valid and active mobile number or e-mail ID with their PAN record with the Income Tax Department
e-PAN Card on NSDL Portal
It can be downloaded by the applicants for free of cost if the Income Tax Department has confirmed changes or the PAN card has been allotted within 30 days. This facility is available for PAN Holders who have processed their PAN card application via the NSDL e-Gov portal can avail of this feature.
Documents Required for e-PAN Application
- Identity Proof (Eg: Voter ID or Aadhaar Card)
- Address Proof (Eg: Electricity bill or Passport)
- Proof of Age (Eg: Driving License or Passport)
e-PAN Card Status
It takes around 15-20 working days for a PAN card to be issued after filing an application. The PAN card status can be tracked using the 15 digit acknowledgment number.
An applicant can visit the NSDL or UTI portal to track their PAN card status. Furthermore, one can also track the status for correction or updating of the PAN card.
FAQs
e-PAN is an electronic form of PAN card. this facility is recently launched and provided by the Income Tax Department of India. It is of electronic form not in physical form. However, it is as same as and will be admissible as actual PAN card.
Those who have applied for a fresh PAN card are allowed to download their e-PAN free of cost while others will have to pay a nominal charge of ₹8.26.
On submission of the PAN Card application form, it would generally take between 15-20 working days for the PAN card to be issued.
