On Sunday, the government has drawn-out the deadline for linking PAN (Permanent Account Number) with biometric ID Aadhaar by 6 months, according to an official statement. Now you can link your PAN till September 30 which was previously set on March 31. It is another reprieve for those who hadn’t linked their PAN card with Aadhaar card yet.
HIGHLIGHTS
- In June last year, government said PAN has to be linked with biometric ID by March 31
- Apex court had last year declared Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid
- Till September last year, of 41 crore PANs issued, over 21 crore were linked to Aadhaar
Deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar extended till Sep 30
On the other hand, the CBDT make clear that it is obligatory to quote and link the Aadhaar number while filing income tax returns (ITRs) with effect from April 1, as per the Supreme Court order.
With this recent extension, the government has extended the PAN card Aadhaar card link deadline for the sixth time. Before this recent extension on March 31, 2019 there were five other deadlines too such as July 31, August 31, and December 31 in the year 2017 and March 31 and June 30 in the year 2018 which were then extended.
Last year in the month of June, the government had said that PAN card has to be linked with the biometric ID Aadhaar by March 31.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement, “….now the cut-off date for intimating the Aadhaar number and linking PAN with Aadhaar is September 30, 2019, unless specifically exempted”.
The CBDT said there were information that those PAN card which are not linked with Aadhaar number by the deadline March 31 may get cancelled, resulting which the matter was well thought out by the government and the date drawn-out till September 30.
The statement by CBDT further added, “Notwithstanding the last date of intimating/ linking of Aadhaar Number with PAN being September 30, 2019, it is also made clear that w.e.f. April 1, 2019, it is mandatory to quote and link Aadhaar number while filing the return of income.”
Last year in September, the top court had announced the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar system as constitutionally effective and held that the biometric ID would continue obligatory for filing of IT returns and allocation of PAN.
On the other hand, a five-judge constitution bench had said that it would not be compulsory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and telecom facility suppliers cannot search for its linking for mobile networks.
Out of total number of 41 crore PANs issued there were more than 21 crore PANs that were linked to Aadhaar last year till September, advancing the initiative of government’s PAN card Aadhaar card link.
In its order the Supreme Court supported the section 139AA of the Income Tax Act. Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act stated that each person consuming PAN as on 1 July 2017, and entitled to get Aadhaar, required to intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.
