india

Updated: Sep 28, 2019 20:31 IST

The last date for linking PAN or Permanent Account Number with Aadhaar, the unique identity number of citizens has been extended to December 31 from September 30, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The Permanent Account Number is a 10-digit alpha-numeric number allotted by the I-T department to individuals and entities. There are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country while Aadhaar has been issued to 111 crore people. Aadhaar is a biometric 12-digit unique ID issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

For those who have not linked the two yet, there is a breather of the next three months. The process is relatively simple and can be completed through the Income Tax department’s e-filing website or via SMS.

Users need to ensure their name, date of birth and gender is correct and there is no mismatch during the process of linking PAN with Aadhaar. In case of a discrepancy, the incorrect data needs to be fixed from either the UIDAI or the income tax department.

The deadline for the linking process has already been extended several times in the past.

According to the e-filing website of the I-T department, around 6.77 crore of 8.47 crore individual registered users have linked their Aadhaar numbers with PAN.

Earlier, the failure to link PAN and Aadhaar cards by the specified date could lead to the PAN becoming invalid. But, according to the new rule, if the PAN card and Aadhaar are not linked by the end of this month, the PAN card would become ‘inoperative’. The government is, however, yet to define what it means by the term ‘inoperative’.