PAN Aadhaar Link: Step-by-step Process

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Shrutika Shah

Aadhaar
Income Tax Account
Income Tax Website
Link Aadhaar PAN
PAN
Last updated on February 19th, 2024

If you have a PAN and valid Aadhaar number, you should link them on or before June 30, 2023. The government has made it mandatory to link PAN and Aadhar, failing to do so, the PAN will become “inoperative” from July 1, 2023, along with certain consequences.

Latest Update

The deadline for linking PAN & Aadhaar has been extended quite a few times. From March 31, 2022, to March 31, 2023, and now has been extended to June 30, 2023.

This means, from July 1, 2023, taxpayers who have not linked their PAN & Aadhar will have to face these consequences for the period their PAN remains inoperative:

This latest additional window to link PAN Aadhaar comes with a nominal fee, depending upon the date on which linking is done as shown in the table below.

Linking CompletedApplicable Fee
Before June 30, 2023₹500
After July 1, 2023₹1,000

The PAN can be made operative again in 30 days after payment of fee of ₹1000.
Tip
The PAN can be made operative again in 30 days after payment of fee of ₹1000.

What is PAN & Aadhaar?

PAN or Permanent Account Number is a 10-digit unique alphanumeric code issued by the Income Tax Department to all taxpayers. PAN is issued in the form of a card and enables the ITD to identify/link all transactions of the PAN holder with the department.

Aadhaar number is a 12-digit unique number issued by the UIDAI to the residents of India to provide a universal identity accepted across India.

While linking is the process for legal requirements, the method also benefits the government & taxpayers.

There are a few more reasons for linking PAN & Aadhaar as stated below:

  1. To comply with the current regulations of the government. As per section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, introduced by the Finance Act 2017, it is mandatory to report Aadhaar for filing an Income Tax Return and for making an application for PAN allotment w.e.f July 1, 2017.
  2. Because Aadhaar holds all the information including biometrics and financial transactions, it simplifies and fastens the ITR processing & verification.
  3. People who hold multiple PAN cards can be identified due to the linking of PAN and Aadhaar. Since every Indian citizen has a unique Aadhaar number, PAN would help identify each person as having a single PAN card in their name.
  4. Linking PAN Aadhaar will help the ITD keep track of all transactions to prevent fraud or tax evasion.

Persons exempted from linking their Aadhaar & PAN

For the following persons, it is not compulsory to link their Aadhaar and PAN, and hence will not have to face the above-mentioned consequences.

However, even if they voluntarily want to link their PAN & Aadhaar, they can do so with a fee payment of a specified amount as prescribed by the ITD.

You can track PAN Aadhaar link status from the Income Tax e-filing portal. If a person fails to link PAN & Aadhaar, they might have to face the below-mentioned consequences:

  1. PAN becomes inoperative: If a PAN is inoperative, a taxpayer cannot file an Income Tax Return, claim any refund, etc. It will also hamper his banking services usage.
  2. In essence, PAN will be useless everywhere it is used. As a result, an individual will have to:
    • Pay income tax & TDS at a higher rate
    • Pay a penalty for not disclosing the PAN while making a financial transaction
  3. If PAN becomes inoperative in the case of non-linking to Aadhaar, an individual will not be able to quote Aadhaar in lieu of PAN or vice versa.
  4. Penalty u/s 234H of ₹1000 of requesting to link PAN & Aadhaar.
  5. Penalty us/ 272B of ₹10,000 for not furnishing PAN and hence not being able to comply with the provisions of section 139A.
  6. Taxpayers cannot claim any refund & interest on such refund for that PAN.

The following are the pre-requisites of linking PAN with Aadhaar:

There are 2 steps to follow to link PAN & Aadhaar:

  1. Payment of fee on the Income Tax Portal via “e-Pay Tax
  2. Submit the PAN Aadhar link request.

Steps to make payment via e-Pay Tax on the IT portal

  1. Visit the income tax e-filing portal
  2. Navigate to e-Pay Tax from the left side nav
  3. On the next screen, enter your PAN & mobile number details
  4. You will receive an OTP, enter the same
  5. Click on Continue once the mobile number is verified
  6. Under Income Tax click on Proceed
  7. Select the Assessment Year & Type of payment as “Other Receipts (500)
  8. Click on Continue
  9. Make the payment and proceed with other steps
Once the payment is made, you need to wait for 5-6 days, and once the patyment refelcts then re-submit the request for linking PAN and Aadhar
Tip
Once the payment is made, you need to wait for 5-6 days, and once the patyment refelcts then re-submit the request for linking PAN and Aadhar

The request can be made in 2 ways:

  1. Income Tax Portal – Pre Login/Post Login
  2. Via SMS

Steps to link PAN Aadhaar on the Income Tax portal (Pre Login)

  1. Visit the e-Filing portal

    Navigate to the Income tax e-filing portal

  2. Click on “Link Aadhaar” from the left side nav

    On your Dashboard, under the Link Aadhaar to PAN option, click Link
    Alternatively, go to ‘My Profile > Personal Details and select ‘Link Aadhaar
    link aadhaar menu on itd portal

  3. Enter your PAN & Aadhaar details

    Enter the required details such as PAN, Aadhaar, name as per Aadhaar, and a valid mobile number.

    Note: It is mandatory to give your consent by selecting the check box ‘I agree to validate my Aadhaar details’. In case only your year of birth is mentioned in your Aadhaar card, then select the check box asking I have only year of birth on Aadhaar card.
    link pan aadhaar tool pre login

  4. Success Message

    On success, you will get a message about your Aadhaar-PAN linking request being sent to UIDAI. Once the application is successful, you can verify the status of the application after 2-3 days.www.incometax.gov.in - Success Message of PAN Aadhaar Link

Steps to link PAN Aadhaar on the Income Tax portal (Post Login)

Step 1: Visit the e-Filing portal and log in using your IT portal credentials

Step 2: On your Dashboard, under the Link Aadhaar to PAN option, click Link
Alternatively, go to ‘My Profile > Personal Details and select ‘Link Aadhaar

Step 3: Next, enter the required details such as PAN, Aadhaar, name as per Aadhaar, and a valid mobile number.

Note: It is mandatory to give your consent by selecting the check box ‘I agree to validate my Aadhaar details’. In case only the year of birth is mentioned in your Aadhaar card, then select the check box asking ‘I have only year of birth in Aadhaar card’.

www.incometax.gov.in - Enter Valid Details to Link PAN Aadhaar

Step 4: On success, you will get a message about your Aadhaar-PAN linking request being sent to UIDAI. Once the application if successful, you can verify the status after 2-3 days.

www.incometax.gov.in - Success Message of PAN Aadhaar Link

An individual can also link his PAN & Aadhar through the SMS facility. Follow these steps to link via SMS

  1. Type a message in the format UID PAN
    • UIDPAN<SPACE><12 digit Aadhaar><Space><10 digit PAN>
  2. Send this message to 56161 or 567678 from your registered mobile number
  3. You will receive a confirmation message

For example: If the Aadhaar number is 256514531487 and the PAN is ABCDP5858X, type UIDPAN 456514521487 ABCDE1234X and send it to 56161 or 56768

FAQs

Who needs to link Aadhaar with PAN?

Every person who is allotted a PAN & is eligible to get an Aaadhar Number will have to link the two. The Supreme Court had also upheld Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act making the PAN-Aadhaar linkage mandatory.

How do I check if my PAN and Aadhar are linked or not?

You can check the PAN Aadhaar link status from the e-filing portal.

For whom is Aadhaar-PAN linking not compulsory?

Aadhaar-PAN linking presently does not apply to any individual who is:
– 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 at any time during the previous year;
– Not a citizen of India.

I cannot link my Aadhaar with my PAN because there is a mismatch in my name/phone number/date of birth in Aadhaar and PAN. What should I do?

Correct your details in either the PAN or Aadhaar database such that both have matching details. You can correct your PAN details on the TIN-NSDL website or the UTIITSL portal. Additionally, you can correct your Aadhaar details on the UIDAI website.

Can I link my PAN and Aadhaar manually / offline?

Yes, you can. Send an SMS from your mobile registered with your Aadhaar to either of the PAN providers (NSDL or UTIITSL) at 567678 or 56161. Use this specific format in your SMS: UIDPAN <12-digit Aadhaar> <10-digit PAN>. Ensure there are spaces between UIDPAN, your Aadhaar number, and your PAN.

Got Questions? Ask Away!

  1. Hi @HIREiN

    As correctly said by you HUF only holds a PAN and not aadhaar.
    PAN-Aadharr linking is mandatory only for individuals.

    So, you are not required to link HUF PAN & Aadhaar.

  2. @Marcelia_Aleluia

    The challan should have been generated, if the payment is already done. So showing challan details you can have raised a grievance that the status has not been updated.

    As the amount has already been debited from your bank account and challan details have not been generated. In that case, you can connect to your respective bank for the payment issues. Then you may retry doing the payment for the PAN Aadhar link.

  3. there’s a family consisting : husband , wife , child !

    can the family open two HUFs ::: 1st HUF as Husband as the kartha AND 2nd HUF as wife as the Kartha ?
    @Muskan_Balar
    @Hem_Shah
    @Shrutika_Shah

  4. Hi @HIREiN

    It’s not possible to create multiple HUFs in one family with both husband and wife as a karta.

  5. an NRI can claim the TDS back by filing IT returns… to file return PAN is mandatory… it becomes inoperative if PAN is NOT linked to aadhar… how an NRI can get aadhar if he is NOT staying in India… please clarify…

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