Pan Card Inoperative? Here's How You Can Link Aadhaar Number With PAN Within Few Minutes

Linking your Aadhaar Card with your PAN card is mandatory for a number of services including filing income tax returns (ITR), claiming tax refunds, opening a bank account, purchase of mutual funds units, Issue of debit/credit cards, conducting bank transactions exceeding Rs.10,000, and lot more. As the last date to file belated ITR is approaching nearer, Aadhaar-Pan Card linking has become even more important.

Remember that If you missed the deadline of July 31, 2023, to file an income tax return for FY 2022-23 (AY 2023-24), you can still file a belated ITR. The last date to file belated ITR for FY 2022-23 is December 31, 2023. One must note that your PAN card becomes inoperative if it is not linked with the Aadhaar card. However, individuals can re-activate their PAN card by paying the penalty for non-linking PAN with an Aadhaar card.

Can You file return of income without PAN?

​​​​It is mandatory to quote PAN on the return of income. Apart from return of income, PAN is also to be quoted in all challans for making payment of tax, correspondence with the Income Tax Department, etc.

However, w.e.f., 01-09-2019, every person who has been allotted a PAN, and who has linked his Aadhaar number with PAN as per section 139​AA​, may furnish his Aadhaar number in lieu of a PAN for all the transactions where quoting of PAN is mandatory as per Income-tax Act. Thus, with effect from September 1, 2019, an assessee can file his return of income by quoting his Aadhaar number instead of quoting PAN.

Is it mandatory to link Aadhaar number with PAN?

The Finance Act, 2017 inserted a new Section 139AA in the Income-tax Act, 1961, requiring every person who is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar to quote his Aadhaar number while applying for PAN or furnishing a return of income with effect from July 1, 2017. If any person does not possess the Aadhaar Number but has applied for the Aadhaar card then he can quote the Enrolment ID of the Aadhaar application Form in the ITR

According to the income tax website, Section 139AA further provides that every person who has been allotted PAN as of the 1st day of July 2017, and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number shall intimate his Aadhaar number to the Income-tax Department. In case of failure to intimate the Aadhaar number, PAN allotted to the person shall be made inoperative after the date so notified.

The CBDT vide Notification No.17/2022 dated 29-03-2022 notified that all the consequences provided under the Income-tax Act for not furnishing, intimating, or quoting PAN shall come into effect from 01-07-2023 if PAN becomes inoperative due to non-linking of it with Aadhaar. ​

How to link Aadhaar number with PAN?

• Aadhaar number can be linked with PAN by any of the two ways:

a.Using SMS facility

b.Using facility on e-Filing portal https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal

How to link Aadhaar number with a PAN using SMS facility?

Taxpayer who wants to link their Aadhaar number with PAN is required to send SMS to 567678 or 56161 in following format:

UIDPAN

Example of SMS to 567678 or 56161:

UIDPAN 111122223333 AAAPA9999Q

Aadhaar number will be linked with PAN if name and date of birth of taxpayer is identical to Aadhaar and PAN.

How to link your Aadhaar number with PAN using the e-filing portal?

• The taxpayer is required to login on the e-Filing portal using his registered username and password. After login, he will get the "link Aadhaar" option under his 'Profile Settings'.
• The Aadhaar number will be linked with PAN if the name and date of birth of the taxpayer are identical to the Aadhaar and PAN.