The last date for linking of Aadhaar and PAN (permanent account number) is 31 March. In case you don’t do it, your PAN will become invalid.
In the Finance Bill, 2021, passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the government has introduced an amendment under which a person will be liable to pay a late fee of up to Rs1,000 in case of non-linking of PAN with Aadhaar.
“The Finance Bill (Lok Sabha) has inserted a new Section 234H to levy a fee for default in intimating the Aadhaar number. If a person is required to intimate his Aadhaar under Section 139AA(2) and such person fails to do so, he shall be liable to pay a fee, as may be prescribed, not exceeding ₹1,000 at the time of making such intimation,” said Tarun Kumar a Delhi based chartered accountant.
“Therefore, if a person fails to link PAN and Aadhaar by 31 March, he shall be liable to pay a fee of ₹1,000. This fee shall be in addition to the other consequences the person has to face if PAN becomes inoperative due to non-maintenance of Aadhaar,” he added.
“The government has in the past given several extensions to allow people to link Aadhaar and PAN, it appears now they want to penalise those who don’t do it within due date by levying a late fee,” said Shailesh Kumar, partner, Nangia & Co. LLP, a tax firm.
As per Section 139AA, it is mandatory for every person to quote the Aadhaar number in their income tax return and the application for the allotment of PAN, provided they are eligible for Aadhaar.
Apart from this every person who has been allotted PAN as on 1 July, 2017 and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number is required to link his PAN to Aadhar. In case a person fails to do so, his or her PAN card will become inoperative after 31 March, 2021.
As per rule 114AAA, in case where a person is required to furnish or intimate his PAN and the PAN is inoperative, it will be deemed that he or she has not furnished PAN. Under various provisions of the Income Tax Act if a person doesn’t furnish PAN or gives an inoperative PAN he or she may have to a pay a higher TDS (tax deducted at source) or TCS (tax collected at source), and may not be able to file income tax return and may face the consequences of not filing the tax return.
