It is mandatory to link PAN card with Aadhaar.
The Income Tax Department has reiterated that there are "consequences" for those who have not linked their PAN card with Aadhaar. Such PAN cards have become inoperative from July 1, after the deadline for linking the two documents ended. In a tweet shared on its official handle on Tuesday, the department clarified that an inoperative PAN does not mean it's an inactive card. The Income Tax Department had extended the deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar from March 31 to June 30, adding that those who fail to do so will have to face "certain repercussions".
Clarifying what those repercussions are, the department said on Twitter:
- PAN cards of such taxpayers will become inoperative
- Both tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) will be deducted/collected at higher rate in such cases
- Any pending refunds and interest on such refunds will not be issued
The Income Tax department has a dedicated FAQ page regarding the procedure to link PAN with Aadhaar to help taxpayers.
However, taxpayers who plan to link the two documents now (to make the PAN card operational), can do so within 30 days "upon intimation of Aadhaar to the prescribed authority after payment of a fee of Rs 1,000".
How to check PAN-Aadhaar link status?
You can visit the Income Tax e-filing portal and select Quick Links. Then click on Link Aadhaar status and enter your PAN and Aadhaar numbers on the new page. If your PAN and Aadhaar are linked, a message will pop up - "Your PAN is already linked to given Aadhaar". Otherwise, the pop-up will read, "PAN not linked with Aadhaar. Please click on 'Link Aadhaar' to link your Aadhaar with PAN".