As the last date for filing Income Tax returns have been extended to August 5th, several interesting data, revelations and warnings have come out from the Govt., related to Aadhaar card linking with PAN Card.
But first, let us start with the facts.
In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar informed that due to duplication issues, 11.44 lakh PAN Cards have been deactivated.
He explicitly stated that every Indian citizen is entitled to have only one PAN Card. Around 1500+ cases of fake PAN Cards were also unearthed, which were issued to non-existing citizens.
He said, “One PAN for one person is the guiding principle for allotment of PAN..”
When Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a statement regarding extension of the last date of filing IT returns to August 31st, they said that PAN Cards which are not linked with Aadhaar before August 31st can be blocked.
While the last date for filing ITR has been extended till August 5th from August 1st; the last date for linking PAN Card with Aadhaar has been declared as August 31st.
The statement said that if Aadhaar card is not received, then mentioning acknowledgement number is enough.
The statement said, “For the purpose of e—filing return, it would be sufficient as of now to quote Aadhaar or acknowledgement number for having applied for Aadhaar in the e-filing website.”, adding, “The actual linking of PAN with Aadhaar can be done subsequently, but any time before August 31, 2017,”
The date for ITR filing has been extended due to issues related with website access.
The statement said, “While technical snags have been removed already, the main reason for failure of people to log in (the e-filing portal) is because of last minute rush and panic in which those who have already logged in want to continue for the entire period for fear of losing it.”
Thus, this is clear that even if you are not filing ITR, linking your PAN Card with Aadhaar is a necessity now.
Some earlier reports state that PAN Cards can be linked with Aadhaar till December 31st, after which they would be blocked.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing case related to protection of privacy and Aadhaar execution, Govt. informed the Supreme Court that Aadhaar cannot be used to track any person.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta, who was representing Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said that such are the inbuilt privacy protection features within Aadhaar system, that even UIDAI ‘wouldn’t know where the Aadhaar is being used.’
The case is sub-judice, and is being currently debated and heard by a nine-judge constitutional bench led by the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar.
