Aadhaar-PAN link still mandatory despite SC's verdict; do it before Aug 31

Though Supreme Court on Thursday in a ruling on the Right to Privacy, protected it as a fundamental right under the constitution, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said that linking of Aadhaar to Permanent Account Number (PAN) is still mandatory.

UIDAI CEO, Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that linking of two unique IDs is compulsory under the amendment in Income Tax Act and will continue under the Act. Which means, the top court's order will have no impact on the linking.

The last date to link Aadhaar with PAN is August 31. 

New India Express in a report quoted Pandey saying, "All the deadlines that have been prescribed under the Aadhaar Act, Income Tax Act or money laundering rules will “have to be adhered to as those laws are valid. The Aadhaar Act is a valid law passed by Parliament. The Supreme Court judgement has not said anything about the Aadhaar Act."

Last week, the Income Tax Department official had said that more than 9.3 crore PAN have been linked with Aadhaar, which is nearly 30% of the total 30 crore PAN card holders. About 3 crore linkages were done in June and July.

However, with just three days left to link Aadhaar with PAN, this is how you can do:

If you are already registered, then go to www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and click on 'Link Aadhaar' option. Once done, provide you PAN, Aadhaar number and enter name exactly as given on Aadhaar card and submit. After verification from Unique Identification Authority of India the linking will be confirmed. 

But, if you are not registered, log on to official website and get registered. Then log in to the portal by entering your Login ID, password and date of birth. After logging, a pop up window will appear prompting you to link your PAN card with Aadhaar card. If a pop up does not appear, click on a blue tab named ‘Profile Settings’ and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’.

All your details like name, date of birth and gender will already mentioned there, verify the details on screen with ones mentioned on your Aadhaar card. If the details match, enter your Aadhaar card number and captcha code and click on the “Link now” button. On completion of the process, a pop-up message will inform you about successful linkage. 

Further, if you want the process to be done on your finger tips, I-T department in May issued an advertisement on a leading national dailies guiding the tax payers that an Aadhaar can now be linked with their PAN through SMS-based facility.

A taxpayer can link Aadhar with PAN by sending an SMS to either 567678 or 56161.

So, do not wait and link your Aadhaar today to avoid technical glitches on last date.

ALSO READ:

• Over 9.3 crore PANs linked with Aadhaar
• Right to Privacy: What the 9-judges Supreme Court bench said on LGBT rights, privacy, abortion and food