On Saturday, the Income Tax Department said those Permanent Account Numbers (PANs) not linked to Aadhaar by the end of March next year would be “unserviceable”.

The IT department says, “What is mandatory is necessary. Don’t delay; link it today!”

“Under the Income Tax Act, 1961, all PAN holders who do not fall under the exempt categories have until March 31, 2023, to link their PAN with their Aadhaar. From April 1, 2023, unlinked PANs will lapse,” it says.

According to the notification, the “exempt categories” include individuals residing in the states of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya; non-residents under the Income Tax Act, 1961; who have attained the age of 80 at any time in the preceding year and not a citizen of India.

A circular from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) dated March 30 stated that once the PAN lapses, individuals shall be liable for all the consequences under the IT Act and will have to bear multiple repercussions.

This person will not be able to file an IT return with an invalid PAN, pending procedure, just like a defective return cannot be done once PAN is unserviceable, a pending refund cannot be issued to an invalid PAN, and the awaiting process will not be processed returns. Taxes will be required to be deducted at a higher rate.

The CBDT sets a policy for the income tax department. The Unique Identification Authority of India issues Aadhaar to residents of India. A PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number assigned to a company, person, or entity by the IT department.