Link your Aadhaar-PAN before it's too late!

Aadhaar and PAN are two such documents, that are required in almost every transaction. The Income Tax Department has made it mandatory to link PAN with Aadhaar for taxpayers. If not, PAN card becomes inoperative. In this case, the question arises whether Income Tax Returns (ITR) can be filed using an inoperative PAN? What difficulties may arise if PAN-Aadhaar is not linked? How can PAN be linked with Aadhaar? Let’s find out more about this.

According to the FAQs available on the Income Tax Department’s website, it is necessary to link Aadhaar and PAN. However, even if your PAN is not linked with Aadhaar, you can still file your Income Tax Returns (ITR).

If you haven’t linked your PAN with Aadhaar by the deadline of June 2023, then your PAN would have become inactive. But you can still file returns. However, you won’t be able to verify the returns via Aadhaar OTP. For ITR verification, you can use alternative methods like generating an Electronic Verification Code (EVC) through net banking.

There are some disadvantages of not linking PAN with Aadhaar. If you do not link Aadhaar with PAN, you may face several issues. First, if you are due for any income tax refund, it will be withheld. Second, during the period of inoperative PAN, you won’t receive any interest on refunds. Third, as per the provisions of Section 206AA and Section 206CC, higher TDS and TCS will be deducted.

It’s important to note that due to non-linking of Aadhaar-PAN, you may face higher taxes on your payments, and due to PAN being inactive, you won’t be able to claim refunds for excess taxes deducted.

The Income Tax Department has once again reminded taxpayers on May 28 to link Aadhaar-PAN. The IT Department said in a post on its official website, ‘Taxpayers, please note… To avoid high-rate tax deductions, please link your PAN with Aadhaar before May 31, 2024…’

It’s necessary to link your PAN with Aadhaar to avoid high tax deductions. But before that, you need to check whether your PAN is already linked with Aadhaar or not. Let’s learn how to check the status of Aadhaar and PAN link. First, you need to visit the Income Tax Department’s e-filing website. Click on the ‘Link Aadhaar Status’ tab under the Quick Links tab and enter your PAN and Aadhaar numbers to check the status.

If your PAN is linked with Aadhaar, then there’s nothing to worry about. If PAN-Aadhaar is not linked, then you need to go back to the home page of the e-filing website and click on Link Aadhaar under the Quick Links tab. You’ll need to enter Aadhaar and PAN details and make a payment of Rs. 1,000 and your Aadhaar will be linked with PAN. It may take 7 to 30 days for PAN to become operative.

The Income Tax Department has exempted some people from linking Aadhaar-PAN, such as residents of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya states, non-residents, individuals aged 80 years or more, and citizens of other countries. If you do not fall into this category, then link PAN with Aadhaar. There’s also a fear of returns getting rejected if PAN-Aadhaar is not linked. Additionally, many other government services such as passport, bank account, and subsidies also require them. All in all, its better to link both, as not linking PAN-Aadhaar can cause trouble.