Govt makes mandatory quoting of Aadhaar number or enrolment ID to apply for PAN from July 1

New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Central Government made quoting of Aadhaar number or enrolment ID compulsory to apply for PAN. Through an amendment to tax proposals, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Finance Bill for 2017-18 had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar to check tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards. Interestingly, the Supreme Court recently ruled that from July 1 onwards, every person eligible to obtain Aadhaar must quote their Aadhaar number or their Aadhaar Enrolment ID number for filing of Income Tax Returns as well as for applications for PAN. Here are the highlights of the judgement: 1. The ruling said that everyone who has been allotted permanent account number (PAN) as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who has Aadhaar number or is eligible to obtain it, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to income tax authorities for the purpose of linking PAN with Aadhaar. 2. For non-compliance only a partial relief by the Court has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled so that other consequences under the Income Tax Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise. 3. Section 139AA(1) of the Income Tax Act,1961 as introduced by the Finance Act, 2017 provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar/Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of PAN with effect from 1st July, 2017. 4. Section 139AA(2) of the Income Tax Act,1961 provides that every person who has been allotted PAN as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar, shall intimate his Aadhaar on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government. The proviso to section 139AA (2) provides that in case of non-intimation of Aadhaar, the PAN allotted to the person shall be deemed to be invalid from a date to be notified by the Central Government. 5. Supreme Court has upheld Section 139AA(1) which mandatorily requires quoting of Aadhaar for new PAN applications as well as for filing of returns. (With inputs from ANI)