Over 9.3 crore Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) are linked with Aadhaar till now, according to a PTI report. Nearly 30 crore PAN-Aadhaar linkages were done in June and July.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government made it mandatory for people to link their Aadhaar accounts to their PAN card for filing income tax returns, bank account and mobile phone number.
"By August 5, which was the last date for filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs), over 9.3 PAN-Aadhaar linkages have been registered by the I-T department," said a senior Income Tax Department officer.
The number of linkages is expected to grow as the policy-making body of the Income Tax Department, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has extended the last date to August 31 to link the two unique numbers.
The CBDT had cautioned taxpayers that Income Tax Returns will not be processed until the linkage of the two is done.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on the other hand, had informed the Lok Sabha that the government has not fixed any time frame to complete the linking of Aadhaar with PAN.
Aadhaar ID, is set to replace PAN and other identification documents in financial markets and all other services to make it more convenient for people. Last week, VP Joy, chief provident fund commissioner said Provident Fund account will be transferred automatically if people change their organisation, from next month. However, the condition for this facility is to have an Aadhaar ID first to get their PF account transferred within 3 days after joining a new company.
The government along with the watchdog – Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) -- is now planning to link Aadhaar to financial market transactions too, the move is being planned in an attempt to fight corruption.
