New Delhi:
In yet another step towards curbing blackmoney, permanent account numbers (PAN) not linked to Aadhaar cards will likely become invalid after December 31.
According to a news report, the government sources have revealed that the Centre is trying to widen the use of the 12-digit biometric identity project and end use of PAN cards obtained fraudulently.
“The government has arrived at the tentative cutoff date of December 31 as it believed the Aadhaar enrollment process will be complete by the end of the year,” an unnamed official told Hindustan Times.
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“Considering that 98% of the adult population is Aadhaar card holders, a time frame till the end of the year is more than adequate for linking PAN with Aadhaar,” said State Bank of India group’s chief economic adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh.
The government on Tuesday decided to make Aadhar card mandatory for filing income tax return and applying for a PAN card through amendments to the finance bill.
Recently, the I-T department had announced a mobile app for paying taxes and tracking of refunds. It had also said it was considering issuing PANs on real time basis using Aadhaar biometric.
"Income Tax department is considering issuing of Permanent Account Number (PAN) on a real time basis using Aadhaar's e-KYC facility. The proposal is at an initial stage of consideration," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar had said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on March 10.
Read | In future, Aadhaar may be only card for identification: Arun Jaitley
Aadhaar-based e-KYC facility would allow individuals or entities wanting to apply for PAN to verify details such as date of birth or address by way of biometric identification using thumb impressions.
So far, more than 111 crore Aadhar numbers have been issued. The unique identification number is being used for getting a new SIM card, for opening bank accounts, transfer of subsidies and also for biometric-based digital payments under Aadhaar Enabled Payment System.
