The Income Tax Department of India recently published a notice in a national newspaper informing everyone, notably taxpayers, on how to link their Aadhaar cards to their PAN numbers by SMS. Since July 1, 2017, the government of India has made it essential for taxpayers to provide their Aadhaar ID number while filing an income tax return or obtaining a permanent account number (PAN).
Importance of linking your Aadhaar to your PAN
A PAN, or Permanent Account Number, is a unique 10-digit identifier assigned to all taxpayers in India, and a PAN card is required when filing a tax return. It is an important token of identification too.
An Aadhaar Card is a unique identity card that is required of every Indian citizen. It includes a 12-digit unique code as well as biometric and demographic information for each user. The Supreme Court of India has declared the Aadhaar Card to be a vital document that all citizens must present for both registration and verification in order to participate in any scheme or service.
The Income Tax Department of India is pushing Indian taxpayers and people to link their Aadhaar cards to their PAN cards within one month. The goal of doing so is to:
- Stop Tax Evasion
- Prevent people from applying for numerous PAN cards.
- Make the process of completing Income Tax Returns simpler.
Process of linking your Aadhar to your PAN
The IT department has developed a new online service for linking an individual’s Aadhaar card with his or her Permanent Account Number (PAN). To make things even easier, the department has set up an SMS service to link the two identity numbers, with a deadline of June 30, 2017. Sending an SMS to either of these numbers- 567678 or 56161- will connect the two cards. Don’t worry if you are unable to do so via SMS; you have the option of e-linking.
One can also link their Aadhaar and PAN on the IT Department’s official e-filing website. The steps are as mentioned below:
- Visit the link – www.incometaxindiafiling.gov.in.
- Enter your ID, password, and date of birth to log in.
- When you log in, a pop-up box will display asking you to link your Aadhaar card to your PAN.
- If the pop-up does not show, go to ‘Profile Settings’ and select ‘Link Aadhaar’.
- All of your information will already be there; simply verify the information with your Aadhaar card.
- If the details are correct, input your Aadhaar’s 12 digit code and the ‘captcha code’ and click “Link immediately.”
- A notice will appear on your screen after you have successfully linked.
- If your data do not match those on your Aadhaar, you can proceed by providing the one-time Aadhaar OTP.
The following are the advantages of linking your Aadhar card to your PAN card: For Individuals
- It aids in tax filing and aids in the reduction of black money.
- It aids in obtaining a pension from the Employees’ Provident Fund.
- It aids in obtaining LPG subsidies and taking advantage of social programmes.
- The government wants to digitise everything.
The following are the advantages of linking your Aadhar card to your PAN card: For the government
- There is less of a likelihood for an individual to have more than one PAN card as a result of this Aadhar card and PAN card linkage.
- It assists the Income Tax Department in detecting tax evasion.
- Income tax returns can be easily organised.
- It aids in avoiding the cancellation of the PAN card.
- This offers summarised tax details with a unique identification number, which the government can use for future reference.
