PAN card holders, Alert! Do THIS now or you may have to pay up to Rs 10,000 penalty

Cardholders should link their PAN card with the Aadhaar Card right now till March 31, 2021, to avoid any trouble.

New Delhi: Do you own a Permanent Account Number or PAN card? If yes, you should link your PAN card with the Aadhaar Card right now till March 31, 2021. If you fail to link the two of the most crucial official documents in India by March 31, you may have to face a penalty. But that’s not all as not linking the PAN card with your Aadhaar Card will also lead to an inoperative PAN beginning from April 1, 2022. 

The deadline to link PAN Card with the Aadhaar card has been extended not once, nor twice, but four times by the Income Tax Department. The first deadline set by the department was May 31, 2021, which was extended to August 31, 2021. From August end, the deadline was shifted to November 31, and then to December 21, 2021. Finally, the Income Tax Department set the last date to link Aadhaar Card with Pan Card to March 31, 2022. 

The Central government has made it made mandatory for every eligible PAN cardholder, as of July 1, 2017, to link with Aadhaar cards according to Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act. Failing to link both documents could lead to punitive actions. 

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had earlier notified Rule 114AAA prescribing the manner and consequences if PAN becomes inoperative. As per the rule, in case a cardholder’s PAN becomes inoperative, “it will be deemed that he has not furnished, intimated or quoted the PAN, as the case may be, and he shall be liable for all the consequences under the Act for not furnishing, intimating or quoting the PAN. However, the person can reactivate his PAN by subsequently intimating his Aadhaar to the Department.” Also Read: Union Budget 2022: PHDCCI urges govt to improve cost structure of Indian Aluminium industry

Moreover, according to Section 272B of the Income Tax Act, an individual could face a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 for each time the person fails to submit their operative PAN card for availing themselves of services requiring the official document. Also Read: PM Kisan: Farmers to get Rs 15 lakh financial assistance, know how and where how to apply