Producing permanent account number (PAN) card details for cash purchases exceeding a certain limit will be mandatory in the near future, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday.
The move is a part of the Modi government's efforts to put a check on black money in the country.
"The government is at an advanced stage in considering the requirement of furnishing PAN card details if cash transactions beyond a certain limit are undertaken," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
The income tax department has been strengthened for increased monitoring and it is being technologically enhanced with analytical tools to identify tax evasion, the minister said.
"Its ability to detect large cash withdrawals, or large cash transactions which enter the system, is being strengthened. GST regime once introduced will also be a landmark step in this direction," Business Standard quoted Jaitley as saying.
"Thus for commodities like gold where the initial purchase by the exporter is after the payment of custom duty, the subsequent transactions which are mostly in cash, can easily be found out."
In May, the income tax department was reported to have been expediting the process of linking PAN with the unique identity number Aadhaar, a step that could eliminate duplicate PANs and assist the government in taking action against those evading taxes.
In his first full-year Budget for 2015-2016, the Finance Minister announced a proposal to make PAN card mandatory for any purchase of jewellery exceeding Rs 1 lakh in value.
"Quoting of PAN is being made mandatory for any purchase or sale exceeding the value of Rs 1 lakh. The third party reporting entities would be required to furnish information about foreign currency sales and cross border transactions," Jaitley had said.
Although the new rule was aimed at checking the menace of black money in the country, jewellers strongly opposed the move saying it could severely affect their sales.
Besides, many others including MPs, MLAs, trade and industry associations raised concerns over the new regulation that made PAN card necessary for jewellery purchases exceeding Rs 1 lakh.
