The Supreme Court in its latest ruling has said that it is not mandatory for every person to have an Aadhaar card, however, for everyone who is in possession of one, must link it with their Permanent Account Number (PAN) card. The apex court upheld the government’s scheme and also urged the government to formulate a measure to prevent the leakage of personal details of the card holders.
The Aadhaar card holds all the essential information to a person’s life. It is said by many economists as the DNA of a person that one can see. In a time when there are so many fraudulent cases and also a breach of privacy of authentic people on more than one occasion, it becomes essential for the government to come up with a way to ensure that such acts don’t occur. This move is a step in that particular direction.
Here is how you can link your PAN card to your Aadhaar card.
PAN-Aadhaar Linking Online
The income tax department’s e-filing website – incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in – has hosted a new link on its homepage to link PAN and Aadhaar. This new feature doesn’t require a user to create a new account or log into a pre-existing one; this feature can be accessed by anyone to link the two unique identities.
How To Do It?
Before you click the link, keep a few things in mind. Once you visit the website, you can find the new link on the left-hand side of the webpage, encircled in red below:
After you have clicked on it, the site will take you to a page where you have to put in your PAN number, your Aadhaar number and your name in the fields given there, following which you have to hit “Enter”. Also, keep in mind that you type your name exactly as in your Aadhaar card and avoid any discrepancies. After you’ve put in everything and hit enter, the linking of the cards will be confirmed following verification from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
PAN-Aadhaar Linking Via SMS
The Income Tax Department has also urged taxpayers to link their Aadhaar with PAN, using an SMS-based facility. As per an advertisement by the tax department, Aadhaar - a 12-digit number issued by Unique Identification Authority of India or UIDAI based on the demographic and biometric information of the person - can be linked with PAN by sending an SMS to 567678 or 56161.
Why Is It Mandatory To Link The Two?
Although all the reasons are not very clear, it is being claimed by many sources that this got a very strong backing by the central government. The government pushed towards this linkage being rendered mandatory because they believe it would ensure in putting a cap on fraudulent people who possess many PAN cards. They also said the tie would guarantee maximum privacy to a person.
(Featured Image Courtesy: Tax2Win)
16 Opinions
26 Opinions
Share
Nice move by the Indian Government. With the onslaught of fake ID cards out there, this was a much-needed move. Although this isn't the ultimate solution, it surely is a step in the right direction. Commendable.