Govt Approves Major Upgrade To PAN System, Makes It A Common Identifier For Businesses

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the PAN 2.0 project on Monday, Nov 25 to integrate the Income Tax Department's Permanent Account Number into a common business identifier for all business-related activities in specified sectors. The total expense of the project, which will be undertaken over many years, will be ₹1,435 crore, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at the Cabinet briefing. Under this project, the government will revamp the technological backbone of the PAN system to upgrade it and make a unified portal for all information related to a registered number. Though the decision was a result of repeated requests from the industry to consolidate business registration numbers into one, Vaishnaw said the new system will also benefit the common man. Under this, the government will develop a technology-driven grievance redressal system to address any issues faced by PAN holders. PAN, which is a unique taxpayer identification number, was introduced in 1972. So far, 780 million PAN cards have been issued with 98% belonging to individuals.