What If You Don’t Link Your Aadhaar And PAN Today? Explained

All taxpayers in the country are required to link their PAN with Aadhaar. The Income Tax Department had extended the deadline to link the two documents from March 31 to June 30, today. Now those who fail to link their PAN and Aadhaar today will have to face “certain repercussions”.

Who all are required to link PAN and Aadhaar?

According to the Income Tax Department, the Income Tax Act 1961 requires all taxpayers, who have been allotted a PAN card as on July 1, 2017, and are eligible to obtain Aadhaar Number, to get their PAN and Aadhaar linked on or before June 30. Those who are exempted from linking the documents include NRIs, non-citizens of India, those aged above 80 years, and residents of Meghalaya, Assam, and Jammu and Kashmir. According to officials, the linking of PAN and Aadhaar is important to curb tax evasion.

What if you do not link PAN and Aadhaar today?

The IT Department has said that taxpayers who do not link their PAN and Aadhaar by June 30 will have to face consequences next month. PAN cards of such people will become inoperative and no refund will be made against PANs not linked to Aadhaar. In addition, interest will also not be payable on the refund for the period during which the PAN remains inoperative.

Tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) will be deducted or collected at a higher rate for those who do not link their PAN and Aadhaar.

Investors are also required to link their PAN and Aadhaar. According to a circular issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), “Since  PAN  is  the key identification  number and  part  of  KYC  requirements for  all transactions  in  the securities market, all SEBI registered  entities  and Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) are required to ensure valid KYC for all participants”. 

The circular stated that all existing investors must link their PAN with Aadhaar to continue smooth transactions in the securities market and to avoid consequences. Restrictions could be imposed on securities and other transactions until the PAN and Aadhaar are linked.

Taxpayers belonging to the exempt category will not face any of these consequences for not linking the documents.

What after PAN becomes inoperative?

As per the Income Tax Department, PAN can be made operative again in 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”.

A person is required to pay Rs 1,000 to link PAN and Aadhaar today.