A study conducted by the Tax Justice Network shows that India lost 57.4% of its total revenue from Income Tax due to corporate tax evasions by MNCs as of 2020. The remaining 42.6% was lost due to private tax abuse, summing up to over Rs.3 hundred thousand crore income tax loss (1).
If that isn’t reason enough to urge an individual to Google “how to apply for a PAN card”, this document’s applicability in other areas has increased manifold in the past few years. This now makes it almost impossible to go about without a PAN card.
Haven’t gotten yours already?
Take a look at what it is and how to apply for one.
If you didn’t know already, PAN stands for Permanent Account Number and is a 10-digit alphanumeric code used for unique identification. The Income Tax department is responsible for providing this number to every potential taxpayer to curb tax evasion.
This is made possible since PAN is an electronic system that tracks the financial transactions of every tax paying citizen. Here two individuals cannot have the same number. This unique identification number is allotted to every individual via a laminated card called the PAN card.
Now, you might be wondering, “What is a PAN card used for?”
Well, a lot of things. Read on to know more!
Besides the very prominent Aadhaar card and Voter ID, the PAN card serves as an extremely significant identity proof in several procedures. Besides, it is a mandatory document to have for completion of several following procedures including, but not limited to the ones in the following list.
That was a list of activities and circumstances where having a PAN card is beneficial for a taxpayer. However, it does not stop there.
An increase in the number of individuals owning a PAN card also benefits Income Tax authorities in the following ways.
Individuals without a PAN card, opting for any activity where this document is necessary, can declare the same in Form No.60. However, follow it up with a PAN card application as soon as possible. Before that, check your eligibility for the same.
If you are still contemplating your PAN card application, here is a list of entities who qualify for PAN card eligibility under Section 139A of the Income Tax Act.
Other than this, any minor, who is a potential future taxpayer, has to apply for a PAN card for the minor. From this, you can get a clear idea that there is no bar to application. Almost all Indian citizens and NRIs are required to get this document.
However, with so many different categories of PAN card holders, authorities have come up with certain segregations to differentiate PAN card types.
Depending on the type of taxpaying entity, PAN cards are divided into several categories. This category can be understood by the 4th character of every PAN, which varies for different entities. Here’s a quick overview of some of the possible alphabets and what they stand for.
If you are looking for ways on how to apply for a PAN card, know that different application forms are available for different entities mentioned in the list. To know in detail about the application procedure, keep reading!
Here is a step-by-step guide on the procedure to apply for a PAN card online.
After completing the above procedure, you will get an acknowledgement slip in PDF format. Don’t get confused if it needs a password to open because your date of birth is in DD/MM/YY format.
Now, for any of you wondering how to apply for a PAN card without internet access, here is an alternative offline process.
Now that you know the detailed procedure of PAN card application, it is important to keep all the mandatory documents handy to facilitate a seamless procedur
The mandatory documents required when applying for this important document vary according to the type of taxpaying entity. To know about the required documents for your category, refer to the following table.
|
Taxpaying entity |
Documents required |
|
Individual |
ID proof, Address proof |
|
Companies |
Registration Certificate issued by the Registrar of Companies |
|
AOP |
Registration Certificate Number / Agreement copy provided by Charity Commissioner or Registrar of Co-operative Society |
|
LLP |
Registration Certificate issued by the Registrar of Companies, Partnership deed |
|
Trusts |
Registration Certificate Number issued by Charity Commissioner |
|
HUF |
An affidavit stating details of all coparcener, issued by the Karta |
|
Foreign applicants |
ID proof like OCI, PIO, copy of passport, etc., Address proof |
Once you have all the required documents and know how to apply for a PAN card, there’s no going back.
However, once successfully applied, you might want to track the progress instead of waiting without any heads-up, isn’t it?
Let’s check how you can do so!
There are several ways in which you can check your PAN card application status. Probably the most prominent way is to check with your 15-digit acknowledgement number, which you must have received upon successful application.
Here’s how to proceed with it.
The next screen will display your PAN application status.
Now, you might be interested to know what a physical card might look like after all the ordeal is over and you finally receive the document. Well, here we provide some details of that as well!
Here is a list of information available on the identity document for an individual.
When it comes to a PAN card for business, there won’t be any photographs or a father’s name. Also, the date of birth is replaced with the date of company registration, while the cardholder's name is replaced with the company name.
Unfortunately, many times cardholders find discrepancies in the information on their PAN card. The good news, however, is the authorities offer provisions for correction of these details like a PAN card address change and a PAN card name change as well.
To correct any wrong information on your issued PAN card, refer to the section discussing how to apply for a PAN card online. Follow the instructions up till Step 3, and then proceed as follows.
Now, you will receive a new acknowledgement slip. Take a print of the same and post it to NSDL’s Income Tax PAN Service Unit.
Having a Pan card with wrong information is one thing, and completely misplacing it is another. And guess what? You now have a solution to that as well.
If you are worried about a lost or stolen PAN card, then stop! Instead, apply for a duplicate of this document in the following steps after Step 2 of how to apply for a PAN card online.
The process of issuing a duplicate PAN card is similar to that followed after your previous fresh application.
Now that you own a PAN card, original or duplicate, do not forget to link it with your bank account.
One can also initiate an offline process to acquire a duplicate PAN card. For this, simply collect a form from the PAN centers, TIN-Facilitation Centers or IT PAN Service Centers. Fill this form up, pay a nominal fee and submit your application.
Your bank account details provide all the insight into your financial transactions and this is where the IT department deducts taxes from as well.
Therefore, linking your PAN card to your bank account is a way to link a PAN card to income tax. This can be done in the following way.
Upon completing the above procedure, you can expect a successful linking of your PAN and bank account within 2-7 business days.
In addition to linking PAN to a bank account, the government also mandates every taxpayer to link a PAN card to an Aadhaar card under Section 139AA of the IT Act, introduced in the Union Budget 2017.
So, if you haven’ done that yet, hurry before the deadline expires!
For solutions to any further queries regarding this document, you can contact the PAN card customer care number available on the NSDL portal.
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