New Delhi: The Union government has made it mandatory to link the Aadhaar number with the permanent account number (PAN) of an individual with effect from July 1, 2017.


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Amending income tax rules and notifying the same, the government has made quoting of the 12-digit biometric Aadhaar or the enrolment ID a must at the time of application of PAN.


The revenue department had said “every person who has been allotted PAN as on July 1, 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 DGIT (systems)”.


However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy- making body for the I-T department in a circular on May 11 came up with categories of individuals who are exempted from mandatory linking of PAN with Aadhaar card by exempting them from the purview of Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act.


Here is what the Notification dated May 11 reads:


In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the provisions of section 139AA  shall not apply to an individual who does not possess the Aadhaar number or the Enrolment ID:


(i) residing in the States of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya


(ii) a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961


(iii) of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year


(iv) not a citizen of India


Furthermore, on June 10, CBDT, after the SC judgment on the matter, made it clear that everyone who has been allotted PAN as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who has Aadhaar number or is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to income tax authorities for the purpose of linking PAN with Aadhaar.


The income tax department had recently made it clear that taxpayers without the Aadhaar number or its enrolment ID would not be able to e-file ITRs from July 1 even as it had said that in "no case" any PAN would be invalidated.


A senior official had clarified that people who were not able to link their Aadhaar with PAN by July 1, would have the option to mention the UIDAI-provided number in the e-ITR and this would be considered a valid linking of the two unique numbers.


E-filing of the ITR is mandatory for all individuals except those earning less than Rs 5 lakh per annum and those who are above 80 years of age.