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Income Tax Department comes up with Instant e-PAN allotment based on Aadhaar

PAN Card is a Permanent Account Number which consists of 10 digits alphanumeric characters and is assigned to every taxpayer in India. It is a computer-based system that assigns a unique identification number to every Indian taxpaying entity. PAN is mandatory for financial transactions and enables taxpayers to carry on various financial transactions easily. It also helps the IT Department to ensure that the taxes are paid collectively. The Income Tax department launched an Aadhaar based instant e-PAN allotment. Earlier people were required to fill up the forms and submit documents to get a PAN, which would take up to 15 days. However, after the onset of instant e-PAN allotment, the process of making a PAN Card has become faster and comfortable

Pre-requisites  to apply for Instant e PAN

e- PAN is a digitally signed PAN card issued in electronic format by the Income Tax Department. For this, the applicant needs to have a valid Aadhaar number. The applicant needs to fulfil the following criteria to apply for instant e PAN:

• The applicant must be an Indian resident
• He must be an individual taxpayer
• He must not already have a PAN
• Applicant must have an Aadhaar Card
• He must have an active mobile no. linked with his Aadhaar
• Applicant’s Aadhaar must have his updated and correct details.

How to apply for instant e-PAN

• The e-PAN gets generated using the details like DOB, gender, mobile number and address as available in Aadhaar. The applicant needs to make sure that all these details are updated because the e-KYC will be done using the Aadhaar database.
• Once the e-KYC is done, the process gets initiated. After this, the applicant needs to upload the scanned copy of their signature. After filling the application a 15 digit acknowledgement number will be generated. This 15 digit number is then sent to mobile number/e-mail mentioned in the application form.
• Based on One Time Password, sent to the registered mobile no/e-mail, a fresh PAN is allotted.
• Once the allotment of e- PAN gets done through the online process, PAN card is sent to the applicant by post.

Application for instant e-PAN

An application for a PAN can be made through the NSDL^[1] website or UTIITSL portal. It is available free of cost for new applicants and also for those who have applied for any changes/corrections in their PAN details within one month of it being used. However, UTIITSL charges Rs 8.26(including taxes) for every download request. The payment can be made online. Applicants those who had applied for PAN through the NSDL portal in the past can also download e- PAN from the same.

While making the application it’s up to the applicant whether he wants both physical PAN card and an e-PAN or just an e-PAN if an applicant wants physical PAN along with e-PAN, he gets charged around Rs.107, and if he needs only the e-PAN, then charges are Rs66.

Remarks

The new facility of instant e-PAN started by the Income Tax Department will surely save some time and effort of people. However, it has been specially mentioned in the portal that this service is for a limited period. So, if you don’t have a PAN card yet, now is the right time to get it.