Not linked your Aadhaar with PAN? Here's what you need to do

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) assured that PAN numbers will not be tagged invalid even if they have not been linked to respective Aadhar numbers by June 30. A definite deadline for Aadhar-PAN is to be issued later.

"There is no need for any panic. PAN will not become invalid after June 30," an Economic Times report quoted CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra.

The statement came after panic spread after people believed that June 30 is the last day for linking Aadhar and PAN numbers, a misinterpretation of a notification issued in this regard on Wednesday.

The notification stated, "Every person who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017 and who in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 139AA is required to intimate his Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director-General of Income-tax (Systems) or the person authorised by the said authorities."

ALSO READ: How to link Aadhaar with PAN Card? And, what are its implications?

Even the Section 139 AA of Income Tax Act, quoted in the notification, mentions that a closing date for Aadhar-PAN linking will be decided and notified later by the income tax department. Failing to get this done by this later date will render the PAN invalid.

"Every person who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to such authority in such form and manner as may be prescribed, on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette. Provided that in case of failure to intimate the Aadhaar number, the permanent account number allotted to the person shall be deemed to be invalid and the other provisions of this Act shall apply, as if the person had not applied for allotment of permanent account number," reads the section (2) of Section 139 AA of I-T Act.

However, it will be best to get the task done promptly as huge influx of visitors at the income tax website is likely to cause slow down in the process. Here is how you can do it:

• Register on the e-Filing portal of the Income Tax Department, www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
• Enter log-in ID, password and date of birth
• After logging in, go to your profile setting which has the option of linking your Aadhaar Card. Generally, a pop-up window appears, prompting you to link your PAN card with Aadhaar card.
• Check if the details such as name, date of birth and gender appearing on screen match with those on your Aadhaar card.
• Enter your Aadhaar card number and click on the 'link now' button. If details on both the cards match, your card will be linked instantly.