You could be fined Rs 10000 if you don’t link PAN-Aadhaar by March 31
Your PAN card will become inoperative if not linked before the deadline.
After several extensions, the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar was extended till March 31, 2021, by the Union government. Assuming the deadline is not pushed once more, those who fail to comply can be fined Rs 10,000, as per the Income Tax Act. After the deadline, the PAN will become inoperative.
At the time, one file their I-T returns it is mandatory to mention their Aadhaar number as well. Last year, the government had extended the linking of PAN to Aadhaar by nine months, from June 30, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
“Understanding & keeping in mind the times that we are in, we have extended deadlines. PAN – AADHAAR linking can be done till 31st March, 2021. We do hope this helps you plan things better,” the Income Tax department had tweeted last year in July.
The procedure to link Aadhaar with PAN can be found here. They can be linked online or by SMS.
After the deadline, the PAN will become inoperative. If you do use the inoperative PAN, it will be assumed that you have not furnished the required information and can be fined for it.
An operative PAN is required for many activities, including cash transactions above Rs 50,000, investing, opening a bank account, etc. Essentially, a person will not be able to make any financial transaction where quoting PAN is mandatory.
“PAN is a requirement for individuals for carrying out several financial transactions. An individual may not be able to open a bank account, sell/buy a property, and make investments without PAN, etc. Using a non-operative PAN is the same as not having a PAN. You may face higher rates of TDS and may be barred from undertaking financial transactions,” Archit Gupta, founder, and CEO of ClearTax reportedly said.
Under Section 272B of the Income Tax Act, a person failing to comply with the rules can be directed by the Assessing Officer to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000. Section 272B deals with penalty for failure to comply with the provisions of section 139A of the Income Tax Act.
“If a person, who is required to quote his permanent account number or Aadhaar number, as the case may be, in documents referred to in sub-section (6A) of section 139A or authenticate such number in accordance with the provisions of the said sub-section, fails to do so, the Assessing Officer may direct that such person shall pay, by way of penalty, a sum of ten thousand rupees for each such default,” it states.
If you aren’t sure if your PAN card and Aadhaar are linked, you can check here.
Source: TheNewsMinute
