PAN-Aadhaar linking can be done till 2023, but there’s a catch

New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes had given a sign of relief for those who have not yet linked their PAN Card with Aadhaar some respite by extending the deadline to March 31, 2023. Linking the two after March 31, 2022, however, will result in a penalty.

Previously, the deadline for linking Aadhaar and PAN before the latter became invalid was March 31, 2022. Individuals might link their documents up until this date without incurring any late fees. Although the deadline has been extended for a year, anyone who links the two documents after April 1, 2022 will face a punishment.

"In order to minimise the inconvenience to the taxpayers," the apex direct taxes body said in a statement, "a window of opportunity has been provided to the taxpayers up to the 31st of March, 2023 to intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions."

However, starting April 1, 2022, linking your PAN to your Aadhaar will result in a punishment of Rs 500 for the first three months (until June 2022) and a price of Rs 1,000 after that.

The PAN Card of assessees who have not informed about their Aadhaar would remain functional until March 31, 2023, according to the CBDT's latest extension, for operations under the Act such as filing returns of income and processing refunds.

However, if a taxpayer fails to link their PAN to their Aadhaar by March 31, 2023, their PAN would become inactive and they will be subject to all of the Act's penalties for not providing, informing, or citing their PAN. After informing the prescribed authority of Aadhaar and paying the prescribed price, an inactive PAN can be restored again.

According to Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act, everybody with a PAN as of July 1, 2017 and who is eligible for Aadhaar must inform the tax authorities of his Aadhaar number.

For the fourth time, the government has delayed the PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline. The previous deadlines for connecting the two databases were July 31, August 31, and December 31, 2017, with the most recent deadline being March 31, 2018.

Over 16.65 crore PANs, out of a total of about 33 crore, had been linked to Aadhaar as of March 5, 2022.