MONEY
The voluntary compliance period for linking Aadhaar card with PAN card is almost over. With just two more days to go, there are divided opinions about the necessity of the link. While some think, it is burdening because of the tedious process, there are others who believe that it can help in many ways. So, here's exploring the ways in which the linking can help in checking crime, duplication of PAN and income tax frauds.
Introduced in this year's budget, the norm has proved to be an important reform in income tax returns. This will not only help in checking instances of multiple PANs and also keep a tab on tax evaders.
Even if the income tax return in not filed, the linking is necessary to prevent rendering the PAN card invalid from a date to be notified by the government. This is done as per section 139AA of the Act. This means that senior citizens, housewives, students and entry-level workforce who do not have any source of income, but possess both the documents will still have to link them. This can be done through the income tax department's e-filing website. Incidentally, if your PAN card is invalidated, you would face a lot of problems in banking and financial transactions requiring PAN.
If the Aadhaar-PAN is linked, one can e-verify the IT return using Aadhaar if the mobile number is registered with Aadhaar database. It is to be noted that if the name on the Aadhaar database does not match the PAN details, one has to provide Aadhaar OTP or EVC to proceed with partial name match.
The linking process