NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday extended the deadline for linking bank account with

.

"It has been decided by the Government to notify 31st March, 2018 or six months from the date of commencement of bank account based relationship by the client, whichever is later, as the date of submission of Aadhaar number & PAN or Form 60 by the clients to the reporting entity," a tweet by the

said.

The government also said that the decision to extend the deadline was taken after various representations as well as inputs received from banks, it added.

The decision effectively means that for existing bank accounts which are more than six months-old, the deadline is March 31, 2018. On the other hand, for accounts opened after October 1, 2017, the deadline will be six months from the date of opening the account.

The government had earlier made quoting of the 12-digit biometric identifier Aadhaar mandatory for old and new bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.

While Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), PAN is allotted by the income tax department. Form 60 is a declaration filed by an individual who does not have a PAN and enters into certain financial transactions.

Ahead of the new directive, the last date for Aadhaar linking with bank account was December 31,2017. Earlier in the day, the Department of Revenue in the finance ministry

paving the way for extension of the deadline.

The Centre last week informed the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend till March 31 the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes.

Last week, the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar too was extended by three months to March 31, 2018.

Meanwhile, a five-judge constitution bench will continue hearing pleas seeking an interim stay on the Centre's decision directing mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various government schemes and welfare measures. The Centre had on December 7 told the apex court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes would shortly be extended till March 31 next year.

(With inputs from PTI)