Aadhaar-PAN Card Linking: How To Do It Yourself

With Aadhaar-PAN linking now compulsory for filing tax returns, more than seven crore individuals have linked their unique numbers so far. Besides that Aadhaar is now also mandatory for applying for a PAN or Permanent Account Number. In the recent past, the Income Tax Department has time and again advised taxpayers to carry out Aadhaar-PAN linking using one of the several modes available. Out of the about 6.44 crore e-filers registered on the e-filing website of the income tax department, Aadhaar-PAN linking had been done in about 3.06 crore cases, news agency Press Trust of India cited a senior tax official as saying.

"The total number of PAN-Aadhaar linkages is about 7.36 crore, as per latest figures updated till today. Seeding of over a crore Aadhaar numbers in the PAN database has come about in the last one month," the official said according to the July 4 report by the agency.

Besides various digital tools - from SMS to online portals - available to enable holders of Aadhaar and PAN to link the unique numbers, the tax department has also issued a one-page form to do so using the traditional pen-and-paper method.

Here's how you can link your Aadhaar with PAN, if you haven't already:

Physical form

Individuals will be required to mention both PAN and Aadhaar numbers on the form. They will also have to furnish two signed declarations.

One will say that the Aadhaar provided in the application form has not been used for linking it with "any other PAN", while another will state that the individual has "not been allotted any other PAN than the one mentioned" on the form.

Part of the declaration form to be signed by the applicant states: "I understand that complete security and confidentiality shall be ensured for my personal identity data provided for the purpose of Aadhaar-based authentication."

The Income Tax Department has also formally notified, under a Central Board of Direct Taxes notification dated June 29, the procedure and format for "intimating Aadhaar number to the I-T Department by PAN holder and quoting the same in PAN applications".

The linking of Aadhaar with PAN can also be carried out by personally visiting a PAN Service Centre. Besides, multiple other digital tools are available to achieve this. These include the income tax e-filing website and SMS.

SMS

For all assessees whose name given in the Aadhaar card and PAN card are identical, a simple SMS-based facility has been provided. Such assessees need to send an SMS to 567678 or 56161 in the following format:

UIDPAN<12-digit Aadhaar><10-digit PAN>

For example: UIDPAN 111122223333 AAAPA9999Q

However, in case of assessees whose names given in the Aadhaar and PAN cards have a "minor mismatch", the taxman has said, the linking can be achieved using an online facility.

Online

A facility available on the Income Tax Department's e-filing website enables assessees with identical names given on Aadhaar and PAN as well as those with a minor mismatch to link the two identities.

The taxman has given steps to carry out this task through the portal:

Once on the income tax e-filing website - incometaxIndiaefiling.gov.in, click on the 'Link Aadhaar' option on the left hand side.

Enter your PAN, Aadhaar and name given on the Aadhaar Card. The name detail to be filled in this step is case sensitive.

Click on 'Link Aadhaar' button to proceed.

An OTP or one-time-password will be sent to the mobile number registered with Aadhaar.

The Income Tax Department has specified in detail the procedure for quoting of Aadhaar in new PAN application and for changes or correction in PAN data.

It has said to the PAN and e-filing service providers that they "shall ensure that the identity of information of Aadhaar holder, demographic as well as biometric, is only used for submission to the central identities data repository of the UIDAI for Aadhaar authentication purpose".

There are over 25 crore PAN numbers allotted, while Aadhaar has been allotted to about 115 crore people.