PAN – Overview
| Name Of Authority issuing PAN | Income Tax Department, Govt. of India |
| PAN Customer Care Number | 020 – 27218080 |
| Inception of PAN Card | 1972 |
| Validity Of PAN Card | Life Time |
| Cost of PAN Card | Rs. 110 {Agency charges applicable if any} |
| Number Of Enrolments | 25 crore (approximate) |
Eligibility for PAN
PAN Card is issued to individuals, companies, non-resident Indians or anyone who pays taxes in India.
Types of PAN
- Individual
- HUF-Hindu undivided family
- Company
- Firms/Partnerships
- Trusts
- Society
- Foreigners
Documents for PAN
PAN requires two types of documents. Proof of address (POA) and Proof of Identity (POI). Any two of the following documents should meet the criteria
| Individual Applicant | POI/ POA- Aadhaar, Passport, Voter ID, Driving Licence |
| Hindu Undivided Family | An affidavit of the HUF issued by the head of HUF along with POI/POA details |
| Company registered in India | Certificate of Registration issued by Registrar of Companies |
| Firms/ Partnership (LLP) | Certificate of Registration issued by the Registrar of Firms/ Limited Liability Partnerships and Partnership Deed. |
| Trust | Copy of Trust Deed or a copy of the Certificate of Registration Number issued by a Charity Commissioner. |
| Society | Certificate of Registration Number from Registrar of Co-operative Society or Charity Commissioner |
| Foreigners | Passport PIO/ OCI card issued by the Indian Government Bank statement of the residential country Copy of NRE bank statement in India |
The Cost of PAN
The cost of PAN card is Rs. 110 or Rs. 1,020 (approximately) if PAN card is to be dispatched outside India.
How to Enrol for PAN
Whether Online or Offline, you can enrol for PAN in 3 simple steps
- Visiting the official PAN – NSDL/UTIITSL website
- Fill the form with your details.
- Submit the required documents.
- Pay the processing fee.
- PAN will be dispatched within 15 days.
How to Update/Edit PAN Details?
PAN can be updated by the following steps:
- Go to the NSDL website and select the update PAN section
- Select option “Correction” in existing PAN data
A copy of (POI/POA) supporting documents are required.
Do’s and Don’ts for Filling up PAN update Form
- The form must be filled using only capital letters
- Fill in all the fields for updating
- Mobile number is compulsory for any updates to take place
- Fill the form in English and the local language used at the time of enrolment
- Make sure the form is filled only with current and relevant details
- Names must not have salutations such as Mr / Mrs / Ms / Dr
- Make sure that the full and complete address is filled for the PAN to be dispatched to the address
- Enter name clearly with signature or thumbprints when self-attesting supporting documents
- Attach relevant documents that support the required update only
- Incorrect information and lack of support documents will cause the application to be rejected
Lost PAN card?
If you have lost your PAN card, not to worry. Apply for a duplicate PAN card online or offline. Login on to NSDL or UTIITSL website, Fill the form 49-A for Indian citizen or Form 49-AA in case of a foreigner and make the payment online for a duplicate copy of your PAN card. The PAN will be dispatched within 45 days.
How long is the PAN card valid?
The PAN is valid for lifetime.
Can PAN card be made online?
Yes. PAN can be made online through the following steps:
- Visiting the official PAN – NSDL/UTIITSL website
- Fill the form 49A or 49AA for (Indian/Foreigner) with your details.
- Submit the required documents.
- Pay the processing fee.
- PAN will be dispatched within 15 days.
Tracking PAN Applications and Transactions
The Income Tax Business Application (ITBA) has now enabled tracking facility for transactions made with PAN for calculation of tax purposes.
Structure of PAN Card
PAN card contains information such as an identity, age proof and also complies with the Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines. PAN card details are as follows:
- Name of the cardholder – Individual/ Company
- Name of the father of the cardholder – Applicable for individual cardholders.
- Date of birth – the cardholder’s date of birth in case of an individual or date of registration is mentioned in case of company or firm.
- PAN Number – It is a 10 letter alpha-numeric number and each character represents distinct information of the cardholder.
- First three letters – are purely alphabetical in nature and contain three letter of the alphabet from A to Z.
- The fourth letter – this represents the category of the taxpayer. The various entities and their respective characters are as follows:
- A – Association of Persons
- B – Body of Individuals
- C – Company
- F – Firms
- G – Government
- H – Hindu Undivided Family
- L – Local Authority
- J – Artificial Judicial Person
- P – Individual
- T – Association of Persons for a Trust
- The fifth letter – the fifth letter is the first letter of the individual’s surname
- Remaining letters – remaining characters are random. The first 4 characters are numbers while the last one is an alphabet.
- Signature of the individual – PAN Card also acts as a proof of the individual’s signature required for financial transactions.
- Photograph of the individual – PAN acts as a photo identity proof of the individual. In case of companies and firms, no photograph is present on the card.
Why do you need PAN?
PAN is a unique identification number that enables each tax paying entity of India with the following:
- Proof of Identity
- Proof of Address
- Mandatory for Filing Taxes
- Registration of Business
- Financial transactions
- Eligibility to open and operate Bank Accounts
- Phone Connection
- Gas Connection
- Mutual Fund – PAN is beneficial to complete e-KYC for mutual fund investments.
The union budget 2019 has proposed for taxpayers to use Aadhaar instead of PAN for filing income tax returns on or after 1 September 2019. It has been proposed in the union budget 2019 that the Income-tax officer can themselves allot PAN to taxpayer filing return with Aadhaar.
PAN for e-KYC (know your customer)
PAN to Aadhaar linking is mandatory for e-KYC and verification to avail services and benefits from respective service providers. PAN for e-KYC is a large service requirement from many service providers and has huge benefits for the end user and government as well. Here’s why :
- Paperless- The e-KYC process is paperless enabling a service provider do manage documents easily and efficiently.
- Quick – PAN card holder can share information with a service provider through a secure channel within minutes, thus eliminating long waiting periods that physical documents would normally require.
- Secure – Information shared between user and service provider is tamper-proof digital documents sent through secured channels, thereby protecting the holder’s information. These documents cannot be forged, neither can it be used without consent of both the service provider or the PAN card holder.
- Authorised – Information shared by e-KYC contains authenticated data making it legal and acceptable for the parties involved in the transaction.
- Cost Friendly – The entire system is paperless and online eliminating physical movement of information making it a cost-effective and time-saving process.