Why Does Govt Want PAN-Aadhaar Linkage? Explained as Deadline Extended till June 30

The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar by three months to June 30, 2023, to provide some more time to taxpayers, an official statement said.

The earlier deadline was ending on March 31. Persons can intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions, it added. Read more details here

Under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961, every person who has been allotted a PAN as on July 1, 2017, and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar Number, is required to intimate his Aadhaar to the prescribed authority on or before March 31, 2023, on payment of a prescribed fee.

“Failure to do so shall attract certain repercussions under the Income Tax Act w.e.f. April 1, 2023. The date for intimating Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for the purpose of linking PAN and Aadhaar has now been extended to June 30, 2023,” it said.

From July 1, 2023, the PAN of taxpayers who have failed to intimate their Aadhaar, as required, shall become inoperative. It is stated that more than 51 crore PANs have already been linked with Aadhaar till date.

Why Does Govt Want PAN-Aadhaar Linkage?

There are multiple benefits of PAN-Aadhaar linkage, as per reports.

“The uniqueness of PAN is achieved by conducting a de-duplication check on all already existing allotted PAN against the data furnished by new applicant. Under the existing system of PAN, only demographic data is captured,” the government had said from its Digital India account on Twitter.

The first, according to a report by Hindustan Times, is that by linking PAN and Aadhaar, the prospect of an individual possessing more than one PAN Card is eliminated, minimising fraudulent activity.

Also, after PAN is connected with Aadhaar, the Income Tax Agency would be able to detect any sort of tax evasion.

And individuals will no longer be needed to give documentation that they have submitted their income tax returns, making the process of filing them more simpler. Because Aadhaar has all of an individual’s information, including biometric verification, linking will result in a speedier return filing process.

Linking your Aadhaar to your PAN will keep the tax return procedure from getting cancelled and will also aid in summarising the taxes related to the Aadhaar for future reference.

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