The last date to link Aadhaar card with PAN by paying a late fee of ₹1,000 was June 30. If you have not linked by the two, you will not able to avail certain services related to income tax.
The PAN will be inoperative for the users who have failed to link theirs to Aadhaar. The tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) will be deducted at a higher rate.
According to the Income Tax Act 1961, all the PAN holders who are not under the exempt category, must link their PAN to Aadhaar.
What happens now?
If the PAN has become inoperative, you can activate it after paying a fine. Log on to the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) portal and pay the amount under Challan No. ITNS 280 with Major head 0021 (Income Tax Other than Companies) and Minor head 500 (Other Receipts).
It is possible to file income tax returns (ITR) even if your PAN and Aadhaar are not linked. But the IT-department will not process your return until the two are linked.
Why should you link PAN with Aadhaar?
By linking your PAN with Aadhaar, you are protecting yourself with fraudsters getting multiple cards by misusing your name. The I-T department can detect any form of tax evasion after a taxpayer’s PAN is linked with Aadhaar. The process of filing ITRs will become simpler as the taxpayers will no longer need to prove that they have filed their returns.
