Linking PAN with Aadhaar deadline extended by CBDT to June 30, 2023

On March 28, 2023, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a notification stating that the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar has been extended to June 30, 2023.

As per the Income-tax Act, 1961, individuals who were allotted a PAN on or before July 1, 2017, and are eligible to obtain an Aadhaar number, were required to intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority on or before March 31, 2023, by paying a prescribed fee. Failure to do so would have attracted certain consequences under the Act from April 1, 2023. However, the deadline for intimating Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for the purpose of linking PAN and Aadhaar has now been extended to June 30, 2023.

From July 1, 2023, the PAN of taxpayers who have not yet linked their Aadhaar shall become inoperative. During this period, certain consequences will follow, including:

• No refund shall be made against such PANs;
• Interest shall not be payable on such refunds for the period during which PAN remains inoperative; and
• TDS and TCS shall be deducted/collected at a higher rate, as provided in the Act.

The PAN can be made operative again within 30 days of intimation of Aadhaar to the prescribed authority after payment of a fee of Rs. 1,000.

However, certain individuals have been exempted from the PAN-Aadhaar linking process and will not be liable to the consequences mentioned above.
This category includes those residing in specified states, non-residents as per the Act, individuals who are not citizens of India, or individuals who are of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.