How to Activate Your Inactive PAN Card

The deadline for linking PAN (Permanent Account Number) with Aadhaar ended on June 30, 2023. The government still needs to release a notification regarding extending the deadline. Therefore, according to the official guidelines of the Department of Income Taxes, all PAN cards not linked to Aadhaar will cease to be operational as of July 1. In addition, people who still need to meet the registration deadline cannot continue certain services in which the PAN is mandatory.

However, if your PAN card has become inoperative, there is a way to reactivate it. Earlier, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stated on March 28, 2023, explaining the steps to make the PAN card active again.

The notice said, "To reactivate the PAN card, individuals need to inform the designated authority about their Aadhaar linkage and pay a fee of Rs. 1,000. The reactivation process will take 30 days from the date of linking."

How to activate your inactive PAN Card

According to the notification, people who fail to link their PAN with their Aadhaar by the deadline must pay a fine of Rs. 1,000 to reactivate their PAN card. Additionally, the reactivation process will take approximately 30 days from the date of linking to complete the reactivation process and get the PAN card operational again. That is, if you complete the PAN card activation process today, that is, on July 5, your PAN card will be operational on August 5.

If your PAN has become inactive, you can activate it upon payment of a fine:

♦ Visit incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/ and navigate to 'e-Pay Tax' to continue submitting the Aadhaar-PAN linking application.

♦ Enter the PAN details and proceed to CHALLAN NO./ITNS 280 to submit the Aadhaar-PAN linking request.

♦ Ensure the fee payment is made under minor heading 500 (fee) and major heading 0021 [Income Tax (other than business)] in a single challan.

♦ Select the payment method and pay.

♦ Enter PAN, select Assessment Year and enter the Address.

♦ Enter the Captcha code and click the Continue tab.

In particular, the Income Tax department allows you to file income tax returns (ITR) even if your PAN and Aadhaar are not linked. However, the department will not process your return until the two cards are linked.