Budget 2019: One can also quote Aadhaar for cash transactions of more than Rs. 50,000

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget for the current financial year on Friday, announced a host of new Aadhaar card rules. Aadhaar is a 12-digit identification number, which is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to an Indian resident. Ms Sitharaman said people who do not have PAN (permanent account number) will soon be able to file their ITR (income tax return) just by quoting their Aadhaar number. More than 120 crore Indians now possess Aadhaar card, the minister said.

Here are key things to know about new Aadhaar rules:

1. Individuals can now use their Aadhaar to file their ITR, according to the announcement made in Budget 2019. PAN has so far been mandatory for filing an ITR. Those who do not have PAN can now quote their Aadhaar number wherever PAN is mandatory to quote, the Finance Minister had said.

2. Individuals can also quote Aadhaar for cash transactions of more than Rs. 50,000. Banks and other institutions will make backend upgrades to allow acceptance of Aadhaar in all places where quoting PAN is now mandatory, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

3. Ms Sitharaman, while presenting her first Budget, also announced that non-resident Indians (NRIs) may get Aadhaar cards on arrival, without the mandatory waiting period.

4. NRIs currently need to have spent 180 days to be eligible for an Aadhaar card. The government plans to enable them to apply for an Aadhaar card using their Indian passport.

5. Last month, GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council had allowed the use of Aadhaar number as proof for obtaining GST registration. Easing the enrolment process for new firms, the Council had decided to allow the use of Aadhaar number for getting the registration.