New PAN card applicant? Here is how to download e-PAN for FREE

The Income Tax department has now allowed all the PAN card holders to use both soft and hard copies as their identity proofs. According to a recent order issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), both e-PAN (electronically issued PAN cards) and physical PAN cards are to be treated equal.

There are two bodies - NSDL-TIN (National Securities Depository Limited) and UTI-ITSL (UTI Infrastructure Technology And Services Limited), which are authorised by the income tax department to issue PAN cards to people. Both the bodies allow PAN cardholders to download e-PANs from their respective websites.

Those who have applied for a fresh PAN card are allowed to download their e-PAN free of cost while others will have to pay a nominal charge of Rs 8.26.

How to download e-PAN? Key things to know

1. All those who had applied for a fresh PAN or made a change in their PAN card details through UTI-ITSL can download a PDF of their e-PAN card from here by sharing their PAN and date of birth. 

2. PAN cardholders who will get the link to download their e-PAN in a PDF form from this website for free only, if their e-PAN was issued within last one month's time, on their fresh PAN application or their change/correction request.

3. Applicants will be sent a link to their phone and email id along with an OTP to download e-PAN. The link can be used only three times and that too within the one month period.

4. PAN applicants will have to give the acknowledgement number of the PAN card application to download the e-PAN from NSDL-TIN website. While NSDL also allows all applicants in the last 30 days to download e-PAN for free from its website.