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The Income Tax department has launched a new e-facility to link a person's Aadhaar with the Permanent Account Number (PAN), a mandatory procedure for filing IT returns now.
The department's e-filing website- https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/ - has created a new link on its homepage making it "easy" to link the two unique identities of an individual.
The link requires a person to punch in his PAN number, Aadhaar number and the "exact name as given in the Aadhaar card".
"After verification from the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the linking will be confirmed. In case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided, Aadhaar OTP (one time password) will be required," the department said in its advisory to taxpayers and individuals.
The OTP will be sent on the registered mobile number and email of the individual.
It urged them to ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly the same, to ensure linking without failure.
"There is no need to login or be registered on e-filing website (of the I-T department). This facility can be used by anyone to link their Aadhaar with PAN," it said.
In a rare case where Aadhaar name is completely different from name in PAN, then the linking will fail and taxpayer will be prompted to change the name in either Aadhaar or in PAN database, a statement from the Central Board of Direct Taxes said.
Taxpayers are requested to use the simplified process to complete the linking of Aadhaar with PAN immediately. This will be useful for e-verification of income tax returns using OTP sent to their mobile registered with Aadhaar, it said.
The CBDT is the policy making body of the Income Tax department.
The government, under the Finance Act 2017, has made it mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar or enrollment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns (ITR).
Also, Aadhaar has been made mandatory for applying for permanent account number with effect from July 1, 2017.
The department, till now, has linked over 1.18 crore Aadhaar with its PAN database.
While Aadhaar is issued by the UIDAI to a resident of India, PAN is a ten-digit alphanumeric number issued in the form of a laminated card by the IT department to any person, firm or entity.