India / Govt extends last date for Aadhaar-PAN linking to March 31, 2021

New Delhi: In a relief to citizens, the central government earlier extended the last date for linking Aadhaar card and Permanent Account Number (PAN) card to March 31, 2021. The decision came amid coronavirus pandemic in the country. "Understanding and keeping in mind the times that we are in, we have extended deadlines. PAN-AADHAAR linking can be done till 31st March, 2021. We do hope this helps you plan things better," the income tax department wrote on Twitter today.

Earlier, the income tax department had extended the last date of payment of self-assessment tax, in case of tax liability up to ₹1 lakh till November 30, 2020.

After 2018 Supreme Court verdict on constitutional the validity of Aadhaar, it is mandatory to link 12-digit identification number with PAN card for filing of income tax returns (ITR). Even if you are applying for a new PAN card, quoting of your Aadhaar number is compulsory. For new applicants of PAN card, the interlinking is done automatically during the application stage.

For existing PAN card holders, it is mandatory to link it with Aadhaar within the last date.

To link your PAN with Aadhaar, you can go to the income tax department's e-filing portal and click on Link Aadhaar section on the left. You need to fill PAN number, Aadhaar number and name. The I-T department will validate your name, date of birth and gender against Aadhaar details after which the linking will be done.

You can link your PAN with Aadhaar by following process:

a) Open the income tax e-filing portal

b) Register on it (if not already done). Your PAN (Permanent Account Number) will be your user id.

c) Log in by entering the User ID, password and date of birth.

d) A pop up window will appear, prompting you to link your PAN with Aadhaar. If not, go to ‘Profile Settings’ on Menu bar and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’.

e) Details such as name date of birth and gender will already be mentioned as per the PAN details.

f) Verify the PAN details on screen with the ones mentioned on your Aadhaar. Please note that if there is a mismatch, you need to get the same corrected in either of the documents.

g) If the details match, enter your Aadhaar number and click on the “link now" button.

h) A pop-up message will inform you that your Aadhaar has been successfully linked to your PAN

i) You may also visit https://www.utiitsl.com/ OR https://www.egov-nsdl.co.in/ to link your PAN and Aadhaar.

Once the deadline to link PAN and Aadhaar is over, the income tax department will start treating all unlinked PAN cards as "inoperative" ones. This means that your PAN card will not be treated as being in use and you will also not be able to file income tax returns (ITR).

If you are not sure whether your PAN is linked to Aadhaar, you can check the status in income-tax department's e-filing portal by entering the details.

Here's how to do it

1) Visit www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/aadhaarstatus

2) Enter PAN and Aadhaar Number

3) Click on 'View Link Aadhaar Status'. The status of the linking is displayed in the next screen

You can also send SMS to 567678 or 56161 in the following format to check your PAN-Aadhaar linking status

UIDPAN < 12 digit Aadhaar number> < 10 digit Permament Account Number>