In a press release dated March 28, the Ministry of Finance said the deadline for linking Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) with Aadhaar card had been extended to June 30, 2023.

The extension comes just a few days before the current deadline of March 31 is set to expire.

The finance ministry noted that PAN cards not associated with Aadhaar would become invalid from July 1. The consequences will be that “no refund shall be made for such PAN”, “no interest shall be payable on such refund during the period that the PAN remains unavailable”, and “TDS and TCS shall be debited at a higher rate” the release said.

Linking of PAN and Aadhaar can be done by visiting the portal of the Income Tax Department and paying a fee of Rs 1,000.

The finance ministry noted that if the June 30 deadline is missed and the PAN is not operational, it can be “reactivated within 30 days” after “notifying Aadhaar to the prescribed authority upon payment of a fee of Rs 1,000”.

According to official figures, more than 51 crore PANs have been linked to Aadhaar.

Last week, opposition leaders asked the government to extend the March 31 deadline and waive the Rs 1,000 fee for linking PAN with Aadhaar.