PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended to March 2022

New Delhi, Sep 17: The Central government has extended the last date for linking of Aadhaar number with PAN by six months to March 31, 2022.

"To address the hardship being faced by various stakeholders on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline has been extended which will ease compliance, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

"Time limit for intimation of Aadhaar number to the Income tax Department for linking of PAN with Aadhaar has been extended from 30th September, 2021 to 31st March, 2022," it said.

"The due date for completion of penalty proceedings under the Act has also been extended from 30th September, 2021 to 31st March, 2022," it added.

Further, the time limit for issuance of notice and passing of order by the Adjudicating Authority under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 has also been extended to 31st March, 2022.

Aadhaar is a verifiable 12-digit identification number issued by UIDAI to the resident of India for free of cost and PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number assigned by the IT Department to a person, firm, or entity.

According to the amendments to the Finance Bill, a taxpayers will be required to link their PAN cards with Aadhaar numbers. if failed, they may be liable to pay a late fee of up to Rs 1,000 if their PAN is not connected to Aadhaar.

Further, as per rules, any person who quotes a cancelled or inoperative PAN is liable to pay a fine of up to Rs 10,000 under section 272B of the Income Tax Act. Why you should link PAN and Aadhaar? If your PAN card is declared, you will not be able to file income tax returns, perform financial transactions that include a PAN, or receive government benefits such as pensions, scholarships, and LPG subsidy if this occurs.