PAN-Aadhaar linking news: Income Tax payers PAN card issued automatically using Aadhar card for filing ITR

In what comes as a major good news for Income Tax payers, the I-T department will soon automatically issue PAN card to taxpayers who are still using their Aadhaar number for filing income tax returns (ITR). According to a notification issued by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on August 30, a person who furnishes Aadhaar card, as they do not have PAN, shall be deemed to have applied for PAN allotment and will not be required to apply or submit any more documents. This new rule came into effect from September 1.

This is the first major announcement made since the government had announced its plans for PAN-Aadhaar linking (interchangeability) in Union Budget 2019 as part of a new arrangement to link the two databases. The latest notification states, "Any person... who has furnished or intimated or quoted his Aadhar number in lieu of the permanent account number in accordance with sub-section (5E) of section 139A, shall be deemed to have applied for allotment of permanent account number and he shall not be required to apply or submit any documents under this rule".

For the allotment of PAN, the Income-Tax department will obtain demographic information of an individual from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The notification adds that the department will be responsible for evolving and implementing appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies in relation to furnishing or intimation or quoting or authentication of Aadhaar number or obtaining of demographic information of an individual from the UIDAI, for allotment of permanent account number and issue thereof.

Meanwhile, the Income-Tax department has made history with a quantum jump in the e-filing of Income–Tax Returns (ITRs) with an all time high record of 49,29,121 ITRs filed in a single day on August 31, 2019. The figures were confirmed by an official statement that added that tax administration nowhere in the world has achieved such huge online e-filing ITRs in a single day. 

"This is a remarkable achievement as taxpayers are experiencing a whole new facet of the I-T department which is not only taxpayers’ friendly but also is of a facilitator providing informational assistance with the pre-filled forms and handholding e-filers besides being proactively responsive on social media to help and guide taxpayers," CBDT said in a statement.