Aadhaar-PAN link implementation trips over 'last day' confusion'

The difference between a Aadhaar card and a PAN card as identity cards itself is a mystery for many Indians, who often confuse between the two. What is worsening the situation is the fact that existing problems in both IDs have not yet been addressed. The latest confusion is the linking of the Aadhaar card and the PAN card. 

What, however remains to be seen is whether the government is able to work its way out of it.

Confusion over dates: People first started panicking when the Supreme Court came into the picture on 9th June when it partially stayed the Section 139 AA of the Income Tax Act, in a move to uphold the government's decision to link the two for filing income tax returns. However, it also said that income tax payers who did not have Aadhaar card would be exempted from the linking and their transactions would be valid with a PAN card too. Now the question that arises out of this is, if July 1 was the last date of linking the two documents, how was the government planning to scan through the 1.311 billion people within a month. Even if it secured data regarding the same, how was it planning to execute last-minute amendments. 

Add to this, the confusion of the last day of linking the PAN and the Aadhaar. The news of the same started flashing across media just 2 days ahead of the the projected last date that sent people in a flurry. However, there were others who waited patiently for more news on the same since a hasty decision could prove to be the regret of a lifetime. In other words, people wanted clarity on the issue first and then go ahead with the linking. However, they were also worried about their 
returns. 

What about addressing the Aadhaar confusion first? A common question that we encountered whenever we sought the opinion of the people. Debraj Sinha, an IT professional had a valid question, "Till now Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has detected 34,015 cases of duplications in the country. Imagine if they linked their accounts with the PAN card and filed income tax returns, the chaos will be unimaginable. There is every possibility that the returns may land up in a different bank account. Same is the case with fake PAN cards. This is not foolproof."

Aadhaar card and the confusion on partial stay: Consider the Supreme Court's reading on the partial stay that is adding to the confusion. Those who still want to enrol are free to do so. However, those assessees who are not Aadhaar card holders and do not comply with the provision of Section 139(2), their PAN cards be not treated as invalid for the time being. It is only to facilitate other transactions which are mentioned in Rule 114B of the Rules.” (para 125)

According to the Wire.in, one reading of this passage is that it remains mandatory to provide an Aadhaar number while filing IT returns (after July 1), but if one doesn’t already have an Aadhaar Card, then one’s PAN will not be canceled for failure to comply; however, one’s tax returns shall be invalid, and therefore subject to other penal provisions for not paying tax. On another interpretation, however, S. 139AA(2) provides the punishment for failure to comply with S. 139AA (refusal to provide Aadhaar number for IT returns). The staying of S. 139AA(2) (for those who have no Aadhaar number yet) necessarily implies that there is no penal consequence to follow from violating S. 139AA itself. 

Issues pertaining to initials and spelling mistakes: This is unique to the southern state of India where the initials in a name have specific functions too. For instance, take the case of Magesh Margabandu, an IT professional. Speaking to the Hindu, he cited, "My PAN card was issued in 1996 when I first got a job. Margabandu is my father’s name, but the PAN has swapped it, and the name also has a spelling mistake. My passport and Aadhaar have the correct spelling and the surname. Now, the I-T website is not linking my Aadhaar with PAN."

Similar cases have been cited in the newspaper. Take the case of Rakesh, who is a chip designer. He says, "My name in the Aadhaar card is the same as the names in my school marksheets and all other government documents. However, in the PAN card my surname, first name, and last name are there, but all of them are jumbled. I am waiting for more clarity from the government. If they insist on linking the two cards on the website, it is going to be a problem.”  The only solution to the problems is applying for a name change. Now, given the population of the country and the number of such applications floating in, a time-bound solution for the same is next to impossible. 

In what seems to be a chicken and egg conundrum, the linking is important but addressing the existing problems are important too. It now remains to be seen how the government will overcome the practical hurdles first.  

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