What Happens If You Miss the PAN-Aadhaar Linking Deadline of March 31?

The Indian government has made it mandatory to link Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar by March 31. If the linkage is not done, the PAN card will become inoperative from April 1. According to the Income Tax Department, all PAN-holders who are not exempt are required to link their PAN with Aadhaar by the March 31 deadline. Failure to do so will result in an unlinked PAN becoming inoperative from April 1, 2023. A late fee of Rs 1000 is applicable for PAN-Aadhaar linkage.

Section 139AA in the Income-tax Act mandates mentioning Aadhaar number while applying for PAN or filing a return of income since July 1, 2017. Taxpayers who do not link their Aadhaar with PAN by the deadline will face various consequences. Their PAN may become invalid, making it impossible to use it for any financial transactions or official purposes. Failure to link PAN with Aadhaar may also result in inability to file ITRs, loss of tax benefits, difficulty in opening bank accounts, and obtaining loans and credit cards from financial institutions.

One can check the status of PAN-Aadhaar linking through SMS or the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal. Through SMS, type "UIDPAN" followed by the 12-digit Aadhaar and PAN number, and send it to 56161 or 567678 to receive an instant message about whether Aadhaar and PAN are linked. Through the e-filing portal, go to incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal, click on 'Link Aadhaar Status,' enter PAN and 12-digit Aadhaar number, and select 'View Link' to check if the linkage is successful.