Linking PAN with Aadhaar for Income Tax Filing

Linking PAN with Aadhar is considered to be one of the major announcements made by the Income Tax Department in recent times. The Government, under the Finance Act 2017, has made it mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar or the enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing income tax returns. The Income Tax Department has launched an e-facility to link Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN). It should be noted by taxpayers that linking of PAN with Aadhar is a mandatory procedure for filing income tax returns.

Why should PAN be linked to Aadhaar?

Linking PAN with Aadhar card will become a game-changer for the Income Tax Department and help increase e-filing of income tax returns. Since the Income Tax legislation is voluminous, Income Tax filings are usually a cumbersome process and part of the complexity can be reduced once Aadhaar and PAN are linked. Once the two identities are linked, taxpayers will be relieved of the burden of submitting IT acknowledgement to the Department of Income Tax, as the identity of the filer would be authenticated using the Aadhaar mechanism. As a result, a lot of hassles will be eliminated for the taxpayers and this arrangement will also reduce costs incurred by the Income Tax Department in areas of compliance and execution like receiving the hard copy returns and reconciling it with e-filed returns. Thus, Linking PAN card with Aadhar will make the process simple for both the taxpayer and the Government.

Procedure to Link PAN with Aadhaar Card

There is no need to log in or be registered on E-filing website. This facility can be used by anyone to link their Aadhaar with PAN. After responding to grievances of taxpayers regarding difficulties in linking PAN with Aadhaar since their names did not match in both systems (for instance, names with initials in one and expanded initials in another), the Department has come out with a simple solution as part of the 2017 budget.

Taxpayers can go to the Income Tax website and click on the link on the left pane which states ‘Link Aadhaar’, as shown below.

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Illustration: Step 1 - Go to Income Tax Website

After clicking on Link Aadhaar, a new page will open where the assessee needs to provide PAN, Aadhaar card number. Please enter the name exactly as given in the Aadhaar card. One should avoid making spelling mistakes. After filling in the details, click on submit.

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Step 2: Update Aadhaar Information 3. After verification from UIDAI, the linking will be confirmed and it will display Aadhaar-PAN linking is completed successfully. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="970"]

Step 3: Confirmation is received If there is a minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided by an individual when compared to the actual data in Aadhaar, One Time Password (Aadhaar OTP) will be sent to the mobile registered with Aadhaar, as per the press release provided by the Income Tax department. The taxpayers should ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly the same. In rare cases where Aadhaar name is completely different from name in PAN database, linking would fail and the taxpayer will be prompted to change the name in either the Aadhaar or PAN database before linking. Taxpayers have been requested by the Income Tax Department to use the simplified process to complete the linking of Aadhaar with PAN immediately. This will be useful for E-Verification of Income Tax returns using OTP sent to their mobile registered with Aadhaar. Till now over 1.18 crore Aadhaar numbers have been linked with PAN database, a report by news agency Press Trust of India said.

Mismatch between PAN and Aadhaar Information

In case of name or other information mismatches between PAN or Aadhaar, an application for correction can be made to either UIDAI or the Income Tax Department. This means that either the information on your Aadhaar will change or the information on your PAN will change. In the case of Aadhaar, only your name, date of birth, your residence address etc. can be changed. In other words, every other information other than your biometric information can be changed on your Aadhaar Card. If you are asking for changes in your PAN Card, there is no biometric information and therefore, only the information a person can see on the card can be changed. In either case, one has to provide valid documents that will give the correct information that needs to be reprinted on either card.

Know more about PAN name change.

Document Required for Linking PAN with Aadhaar

No document is necessary for linking PAN with Aadhaar. All that is required is that the information (non-biometric) on the Aadhaar Card and the PAN Card are a perfect match. Only if they match, can the assessee ask for a linking or else, one has to have the information edited and corrected before the taxpayer can have the two linked with each other. Hence, prior to starting the process, the assessee should ensure that the PAN and Aadhaar cards will have the following information in common:

Name
Gender
Birth Date

Latest Update

As per notification on 30th December 2019 from the CBDT, Ministry of Finance (Notification No.107/2019), the deadline for linking PAN & Aadhaar is 31st March 2020. The respective notification can be found below:

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Learn more: Advance Tax Payment

Update on 23/12/2022

CBDT announced that Unlinked PAN Will Become Inoperative From 01.04.2023. As per sec 139AA of the income tax act 1961, every person who has been allotted PAN as of 01.07.2017 and who is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar Number has compulsorily linked their Aadhaar and pan on or before 31st March 2023 With paying the late fee as per Circular No. 7/2022 dated 30/3/2022.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about PAN Aadhaar Link.

Linking PAN with Aadhaar is mandatory for filing income tax returns as per the Finance Act 2017. This will help increase e-filing of returns and reduce complexities in the income tax filing process. It will also authenticate the filer's identity using the Aadhaar mechanism, eliminating the need to submit IT acknowledgments.

To link your PAN with Aadhaar, you can visit the Income Tax website and click on the 'Link Aadhaar' option on the left pane. Enter your PAN, Aadhaar number, and name exactly as given in the Aadhaar card. After verification from UIDAI, the linking will be confirmed.

If there is a minor mismatch in the Aadhaar name provided, you will receive an OTP on the mobile number registered with Aadhaar. Ensure that the date of birth and gender on both PAN and Aadhaar are the same. If there is a complete mismatch, you will need to change the name on either the Aadhaar or PAN database before linking.

No, you do not need to submit any documents for linking PAN with Aadhaar. However, ensure that the non-biometric information (name, gender, date of birth) on both Aadhaar and PAN cards match perfectly before attempting to link them.

As per the CBDT notification No. 107/2019, the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar is 31st March 2020. From 1st April 2023, unlinked PAN will become inoperative as per sec 139AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Circular No. 7/2022 dated 30/3/2022.

Linking PAN with Aadhaar will make the income tax filing process simpler for both taxpayers and the government. It will reduce costs for the Income Tax Department, eliminate hassles for taxpayers, and enable e-verification of returns using OTP sent to the Aadhaar-registered mobile number.

Yes, you can link your PAN with Aadhaar even after filing your tax returns. The linking process is independent of the filing process and can be done at any time before the deadline.

Yes, if you do not link your PAN with Aadhaar by the deadline, your PAN will become inoperative, and you may face consequences or penalties related to income tax filing and other financial transactions.

Yes, if there is a mismatch in personal information (name, date of birth, gender) between your Aadhaar and PAN, you can apply for correction with UIDAI (for Aadhaar) or the Income Tax Department (for PAN) before proceeding with the linking process.

After completing the linking process on the Income Tax website, you will receive a confirmation message stating that your Aadhaar-PAN linking is successful. You can also check the status on the e-filing portal or by contacting the Income Tax Department's helpline.