PAN Aadhaar Link: Step-by-step Process

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:

• no refund shall be issued against such PAN
• interest shall not be payable on such a refund
• TDS/TCS deducted/collected shall be at a higher rate, as provided in the IT Act.

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.

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.

Why link Aadhar PAN?

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

• Since most transactions now require the Aadhaar number, linking it to PAN allows the ITD to quickly see a complete activity trail.
• Taxpayers can easily e-verify their returns without digital signatures. Furthermore, even without an Aadhaar number, they can access their Income Tax Portal because PAN and Aadhaar are linked.

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.

• Individuals from Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya;
• An NRI as per the Income-tax Act, 1961;
• Individuals above the age of 80 or more at any time during the previous year; or
• Not a citizen of India

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.

What happens if one does not link PAN & Aadhaar?

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.

How to link PAN Aadhaar online?

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

• A valid PAN
• A valid Aadhaar Number
• A valid Mobile Number

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

Submit an online request to link PAN Aadhaar

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 (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’.

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.

Steps to link PAN Aadhaar via SMS

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