Buying Car, Taking Loan Or Opening Bank Account: Know Consequences Of Not Linking PAN With Aadhaar

PAN-Aadhaar Linking: The government has mandated the linking of Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar latest by June 30. Failure to comply with the order will result in your PAN card becoming inoperative from July 01, 2023.

The last date to link PAN with Aadhaar was March 31, 2023. However, the same was extended by another three months.

“Under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961(the ‘Act’) every person who has been allotted a PAN as on 1st July, 2017 and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar Number, is required to intimate his Aadhaar to the prescribed authority on or before 31st March, 2023, on payment of a prescribed fee. Failure to do so shall attract certain repercussions under the Act w.e.f. 1st April, 2023. The date for intimating Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for the purpose of linking PAN and Aadhaar has now been extended to 30th June, 2023,” Ministry of Finance recently said in PIB note.

What Is PAN-Aadhaar Link?

The PAN-Aadhaar link refers to the process of linking your PAN with your Aadhaar number. The Government of India has made it mandatory for individuals to link their PAN with Aadhaar.

It is compulsory for everyone, who is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar card, to mention their Aadhaar number while applying for PAN or furnishing a return of income with effect from July 1, 2017, as per section 139AA in the Income-tax Act.

What If You Don’t Link Aadhaar With PAN?

From 1st July, 2023, the PAN of taxpayers who have failed to intimate their Aadhaar, as required, shall become inoperative and the consequences during the period that PAN remains inoperative will be as follows:

• No refund shall be made against such PANs;
• Interest shall not be payable on such refund for the period during which PAN remains inoperative; and
• TDS and TCS shall be deducted /collected at a higher rate, as provided in the Act.

The PAN card of taxpayers who do not link their Aadhaar as required will no longer be valid after June 30. If you fail to link your PAN and Aadhaar by the deadline, there could be several consequences.

Here are some of the possible consequences:

-Invalidation of PAN: If you fail to link your PAN and Aadhaar, your PAN could become invalid. This means that you will not be able to use it for any financial transactions or official purposes.

-Inability to file Income Tax Returns (ITRs): Failure to link PAN with Aadhaar may result in you being unable to file your ITRs, which could result in penalties and other consequences.

-Loss of Tax Benefits: If your PAN becomes invalid, you may lose out on various tax benefits such as deductions, exemptions, and credits. This could result in a higher tax liability for you.

-Difficulty in opening bank accounts: Banks and other financial institutions always require PAN and Aadhaar for opening new accounts. So, if your PAN becomes invalid, you might face difficulty in opening new bank accounts in the future.

-Difficulty in obtaining loans and credit cards: If your PAN is invalid, you might also face difficulty in obtaining loans for purposes like car, home etc. and credit cards from banks and other financial institutions. This could affect your creditworthiness and financial standing.

In addition to the above, the taxpayer might face difficulty at banks and other financial portals, as PAN is one of the important KYC criterion for all kinds of financial transactions.

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