20 crore PAN Cards may become useless! Yours too if you haven't done this

PAN Card-Aadhaar Number Linking: If you don't file Income Tax and still possess PAN card just as an identity proof, here's something you must do soon to ensure your Permanent Account Number card doesn't get deactivated by the Income Tax department. Your PAN card may become useless if not linked with Aadhaar number before September 30. The Income Tax department will do this as part of a crackdown on duplicate Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards in circulation. 

According to a DNA Money report, over 20 crores of the existing 44 crores PAN cards are yet to be linked to Aadhaar number. The Income Tax department may deactivate such cards not linked before the September 30 deadline. 

The report quoted a senior official as saying today that the I-T department suspects that a large number of PAN cards are "bogus or duplicate". Many people who don't even pay Income Tax possess PAN card to use as an identity card. The government wants to put a curb on this practice, the official said. 

The Income-tax authorities have also noticed a trend of use of PAN cards issued to non-users to carry out tax evasion by fraudsters. 

The last date for linking PAN card with Aadhaar number is September 30. But, you need to link both numbers several weeks before the deadline if you want to file the Income Tax Return this year. 

You can file Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the assessment year 2019-20 only if your PAN and Aadhaar numbers are linked. And the last date for filing ITR for AY 2019-20 is July 31, 2019. In case you don't link your PAN and Aadhaar number, you won't be able to file ITR. However, if you link PAN-Aadhaar after July 31, you would still be able to file ITR up to September with a late fee.