PAN card, Aadhaar card linking new deadline announced. 5 things to know

The income tax department has once again extended the deadline for linking of PAN card and Aadhaar card. After the 2018 Supreme Court verdict on constitutional the validity of Aadhaar, the 12-digit identification number is mandatory not only for filing of income tax returns (ITR) but also for Permanent Account Number (PAN) card.

PAN card, Aadhaar card linking rule explained in 5 points:

1) If you are applying for a new PAN card, quoting of Aadhaar is compulsory in your application form and after that you are allowed to use your Aadhaar number wherever PAN is sought. PAN and Aadhaar numbers are now interchangeable. For new applicants of PAN card, the interlinking is done automatically during the application stage.

2) For existing PAN card holders, it is mandatory to link it with Aadhaar within the last date. The linking process can be done on the income tax department's e-filing portal or even simply by sending an SMS. You can also check the status of your linking online.

3) As many taxpayers are yet to interlink their Aadhaar with PAN, the deadline has now been extended for the eighth time by the income tax department. The last date of 31 December 2019 has now been extended to 31 March 2020.

4) A tax professional said that even many business people are yet to link the two documents as they have certain apprehensions. "Aadhaar number is being used virtually for getting almost all the documents such as passport and voter identity card. Besides, it is required for purchase of properties and vehicles. Many people fear that once they link their Aadhaar with PAN, all their information would be automatically shared with the government," the tax consultant said.

5) Once the deadline to link PAN and Aadhaar is over, the income tax department will start treating all unlinked PAN cards as "inoperative" ones. This means that your PAN card will not be treated as being in use and you will also not be able to file income tax returns (ITR).