Why Linking Aadhaar Card with PAN is Mandatory for Investors

The clock is ticking for Indian investors in the stock market as the government has mandated the Aadhaar-PAN linking process as per the directives issued under the Exchange Circular No. NSE/ISC/56173. Please note w.e.f. June 30, 2023, PANs not linked with Aadhaar will be considered invalid and not permitted to trade on Exchange. Also, their Demat Accounts will be Frozen for debits.

How to check if your Adhaar Card is linked to your PAN Card?

1. Visit the Income Tax Department’s e-filing website: https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home
2. Enter your PAN number and Aadhaar number.
3. Next, click the “Validate” button.
4. A message will appear if your Aadhaar has already been linked to your PAN card. Otherwise, a message will appear, prompting you to link your Aadhaar to your PAN card.

Check it via SMS

You can also check the status of your Aadhaar-PAN linking by sending an SMS from your RMN- registered mobile number to 567678 or 56161 in the format: UIDPAN 12-digit Aadhaar number 10-digit PAN number.

A message will confirm if your Aadhaar is already linked to your PAN. Otherwise, you will receive a message prompting you to link your Aadhaar to your PAN card.

As a trader or investor, you might face these challenges if you don’t link your Aadhaar card with your PAN card:

• Failure to Trade on Exchange: W.E.F. June 30, 2023, PANs not linked with Aadhaar will be considered invalid, and thus, you will be prohibited from trading on Exchange.
• Invalid PAN card: Failure to link Aadhaar with PAN could result in an invalid PAN card, preventing investors or traders from making any financial transactions.
• Tax return rejection: If your Aadhaar is not linked with your PAN, the Income Tax Department could reject the tax return filed by you. These two are relevant documents while filling your ITR.
• Inability to open new accounts: It will not be possible to open new bank accounts, demat accounts or mutual fund accounts if your Aadhaar is not linked with your PAN.
• Difficulty in claiming tax benefits: Investors/ traders may face difficulty in claiming tax benefits, such as deductions or exemptions, if their Aadhaar is not linked with PAN.

Please Note– People who have been granted exemptions from linking their PAN (Permanent Account Number) with Aadhaar will not be affected by the consequences of PAN becoming inoperative.

To avoid these, here is a process that you should follow.

Here is how you can link your Aadhaar Card with your PAN Card

The primary step to link your PAN card with your Aadhaar card is to submit the relevant non-refundable fee. The fee was initially Rs. 500 if the linking was done before June 30, 2022, but now it has been increased to Rs. 1,000. 

You can pay the fee through two methods:

Step 1. Using the e-Pay Tax feature available on the e-filing portal or NSDL portal, if you hold an account with Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, CBI- Central Bank of India, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, or Kotak Mahindra Bank.

To pay the non-refundable fee of Rs. 1,000 for linking your Aadhaar card with your PAN card, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to the e-Pay Tax page on the Income Tax e-Filing website.
2. Enter your PAN and confirm your PAN and mobile number to receive an OTP.
3. After OTP verification, you will be automatically directed to a page displaying various payment tiles.
4. Click on the “Proceed” button located on the Income Tax tile.
5. Select the Assessment Year as 2023-24 and the Type of Payment as Other Receipts (500), and then click on “Continue.”
6. In the tax break-up, enter the amount as Rs. 1000 under the “Others” field.
7. Finally, proceed to make the payment.

OR

If you do not have any of the above-mentioned bank accounts, you can use the NSDL (now Protean) portal.

To pay the fee, follow these steps:

1. Visit the e-Pay Tax page on the Income Tax e-Filing website.to pay the late fee of 1000.
2. Enter your PAN and confirm your PAN and mobile number to receive an OTP.
3. Under the non-TDS/TCS category, click on the “Proceed” button under Challan no./ITNS 280.
4. You will see a challan with major (0021) and minor head (500).
5. Complete the necessary fields, including PAN, AY, and mode of payment, and submit a single challan for the exact amount. It’s essential to note that the fee payment challan should correspond to AY 2023-24.

Step 2. involves submitting a request to link your Aadhaar with your PAN on the e-Filing portal after 4-5 working days of making the payment on the NSDL (now Protean) portal. 

Follow these detailed steps:

1. Login to the e-filing portal and go to the Dashboard.
2. Click on “Link Aadhaar” under the Link Aadhaar to PAN option or “Link Aadhar” in the personal details section.
3. Enter your PAN and Aadhaar number and click on “Validate“.
4. If you have made the payment of the challan on the NSDL (Protean) portal and the payment details have been verified by e-filing your PAN and Aadhaar will be validated. You will see a pop-up message that says, “Your payment details are verified”. Click “Continue” on the pop-up message to submit your Aadhaar link request.
5. Fill in the required details and click on the “Link Aadhaar” button.
6. Enter the 6-digit OTP that you receive on the mobile number provided in the previous step.
7. Your request for linking Aadhaar-PAN has been successfully submitted. You can now check the Aadhaar-PAN link status.

Here are some reasons why linking Aadhaar with PAN is necessary:

1. Easy Tax Filing: Linking Aadhaar with PAN will simplify the tax filing process. The linkage will enable automatic verification of details, eliminating the need for manual documentation and saving time for taxpayers.
2. Fraud Prevention: Linking Aadhaar with PAN will help prevent tax evasion and fraud. It will create a comprehensive activity trail and reduce the number of people who dodge taxes. This will also help to detect fake PAN cards used in tax evasion.
3. Multiple PAN Cards: Linking Aadhaar with PAN will also help to detect entities using multiple PAN cards for tax evasion. It will enable the government to identify several PAN cards registered under the same name and take necessary action.
4. Organised Tax Information: Aadhaar and PAN will provide a one-page view of all tax transactions once linked. It will make it easier to keep track of one’s taxes by attaching a summary to Aadhaar for future reference.

Categories exempted from linking Adhaar Card with PAN Card

Individuals who are eligible to obtain Aadhaar are mandated to link it with PAN. However, certain categories of people are exempt from this rule. These include:

• NRIs, OCIs, POIs, etc., who are non-residents of India but conduct business here are not required to link their PAN with their Aadhaar
• Foreign nationals residing in India are also not mandated to link their Aadhaar with their PAN
• Taxpayers from Assam, Meghalaya, and J&K are also exempted from linking their Aadhaar with their PAN
• Senior citizens aged above 80 years are also exempted from this mandate.

To avoid penalties and ensure that your PAN card remains valid, it is a must to link it with your Aadhaar card before the June 30, 2023 deadline. So, be smart, act as a smart Indian and ensure you do this task if you haven’t yet.

Sources:

moneycontrol.com

incometax.gov.in

incometax.gov.in

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Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks; read all the related documents carefully before investing.