Aadhaar-PAN linking: The last date for linking PAN with biometric Aadhaar was June 30, 2023, by paying a late fee of ₹1000. Taxpayers who have not linked the two till this date will not be able to avail some services related to income tax.
From July 1, 2023, PAN will become inactive for those who have failed to link it with Aadhaar. TDS (tax deducted at source) and TCS (tax collected at source) of these people will be deducted at a higher rate. As per the Income Tax Act 1961, it is mandatory for all PAN holders who do not fall in the exempted category to link their PAN with Aadhaar.
This is how PAN can be activated
After paying the penalty, the taxpayer can activate his PAN. This process can be done on the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) portal by paying the amount under challan number ITNS 280 with Major Head 0021 and Minor Head 500 (Other Receipts).
ITRs will not be processed without linking
While it is possible to file Income Tax Returns (ITRs) without linking PAN to biometric Aadhaar, the Income Tax Department will not process ITRs unless the two are linked. On Friday, the Income Tax Department said it would duly consider cases where PAN could not be linked with Aadhaar despite individuals giving consent and paying fees.
In a tweet, the Income Tax Department had said that there have been cases where PAN holders have faced difficulty in downloading challans after payment of fee for Aadhaar-PAN linking. It was said by the department “In this regard, it is informed that the challan payment status can be checked in the ‘e-pay tax’ tab of the portal after login. If the payment is successful, the PAN holder can proceed to link PAN with Aadhaar.
