Do note that people now have to pay a penalty or late fee to link PAN with Aadhaar. The linking can happen only after the income tax department confirms that the penal amount has been received.
Also Read: How to pay penalty for linking PAN Aadhaar?
ET Wealth spoke to experts to understand if there is a need for further extension of the PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline. Here is what they said:
Sujit Bangar, Ex-IRS officer and founder of TaxBuddy.com: “The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar ends on June 30, whereas the ITR filing deadline is July 31. There is a probability many users might confuse these deadlines. The government should extend the deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar to match the ITR filing deadline.”
CA Ruchika Bhagat, MD, Neeraj Bhagat & Co: “In case a person fails to link both, the PAN will become inoperative, further pending returns will not be processed and pending refunds will be put on hold. You will also not be able to file your ITR and your tax is also liable to be deducted at a higher rate. Therefore, it is essential that you get it done within time. As of now, it is unlikely that the government will extend the due date as sufficient time has been provided and the deadline has been extended many times. So, instead of waiting for the date to be extended, one must ensure to get it done beforehand.”Vivek Iyer, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat: “In my view, the PAN and Aadhaar deadline will be extended by another 4 months to October-end to ensure more coverage of the demography, without any penalty. Introducing penal measures for failure to update may be a better measure.”CA Amod Shukla, Proprietor, Tyagi Shukla & Co: “According to recent data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, as of February 2023, the Indian government has issued more than 610 million PAN cards, while the number of PAN cards successfully linked with Aadhaar stands at only 480 million. This significant disparity indicates the existence of obstacles that taxpayers encounter when completing the process. Such challenges may arise from factors like inadequate awareness, technical complications or logistical issues. To alleviate the difficulties faced by individuals, it may be beneficial to extend the deadline for a limited duration, such as 30 days.”
Maneet Pal Singh, Partner, I.P. Pasricha & Co: Formerly, CBDT has extended the deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar card to June 30, 2023. The Press Release dated 28th March,2023 by Ministry of Finance clearly stated that w.e.f. 1st July,2023 PAN of taxpayers who failed to intimate their Aadhaar shall become inoperative. Further, it seems from the phraseology of the Press Release that GOI in no way tends to increase the deadline further as the Government has already given enough extensions to comply.