December 31, 2019, is the deadline for people in India to link their PAN card to Aadhaar. Failing to link the two, the government had earlier stated that it would render your PAN inoperative.
According to a report, non-resident Indians (NRI) are not required to have an Aadhaar card or a PAN (Permanent Account Number), but if they do, then it is mandatory to link them by Dec 3. An NRI with financial dealings back home is advised to have both a PAN card and an Aadhaar. As per Indian government rules, a PAN card is mandatory for NRIs if they have a taxable income in India or want to make investments in the country.
The deadline for the linkage was extended till December 31 from an earlier deadline of September 30.
Earlier this month, the Income Tax department on Twitter, in a reminder, stated: “Not linking your PAN with Aadhaar before 31st December shall make your PAN operative”.
This comes after the Finance Bill was passed. It made an amendment to Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, which pertains to linking of PAN and Aadhaar, which stated that the PAN will be “made inoperative after the date so notified in such manner as may be prescribed”. There is currently no clarity on what happens to cards made inoperative, or if there is a manner in which they can be made operative again.
In case you would like to check if you have linked your PAN with Aadhaar or what the status of your linkage is, one can click here and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’, the first option under ‘Quick Links’ on the left bar.
PAN and Aadhaar can also be linked by SMS. Send an SMS to 567678 or 56161 from your registered mobile number in the following format: UIDPAN<SPACE><12 digit Aadhaar><Space><10 digit PAN>.