Lost your PAN card? Here is how to get a new one

The Permanent Account Number (PAN) is one of the essential tools in your purse, wherever you go. This ten-digit unique alphanumeric number encrypted in laminated plastic card, is your most identical proof. PAN cards are used for every service you take: booking tickets, opening bank account, filing for Income Tax Return (ITR), paying income taxes, investment, among others. Even restaurants or traffic police check your PAN card for your age eligibility. Hence, PAN cards are very important to carry everywhere you go, but what happens when this card is lost or forgotten? 

If you have forgotten your PAN card, you can retrieve it even online through Income Tax Department website. But the problem occurs when you lose your card. In lost or forgotten case,  one can know his PAN by using the facility of “Know Your PAN” provided by the Income Tax Department. 

This facility can be availed of from the website of Income Tax Department - www.incometaxindia.gov.in

If you visit Income Tax e-filing website. You must login with your user id and password. Then enter into your profile setting, the option to verify your PAN will be available. A person can know his PAN online by providing his core details like Name, Father's Name and Date of Birth.

After knowing the PAN you can apply for duplicate PAN card by submitting the “Request For New PAN Card Or/ And Changes Or Correction in PAN Data”.

Currently, every citizen who has obtained Aadhaar card is mandatory to quote the 12-digit biometric number in their PAN application. Simply put, Aadhaar is compulsory for linking with PAN or applying for a new one.