The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has once again reiterated that the linking of Aadhaar with PAN Card is a mandatory requirement to file income tax returns.
“It has been reported in some sections of the media that those PANs which are not linked with Aadhaar number by 31.03.2019 may be invalidated. The matter has been considered by the Central Government and now the cut-off date for intimating the Aadhaar number and linking PAN with Aadhaar is 30.09.2019 unless specifically exempted,” the CBDT said in a statement.
“Notwithstanding the last date of intimating/linking of Aadhaar Number with PAN being 30.09.2019, it is also made clear that w.e.f. 01.04.2019, it is mandatory to quote and link Aadhaar number while filing the return of income, unless specifically exempted,” it said.
The Finance Act, 2017 inserted Section 139AA to the Income Tax Act mandating quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making an application for allotment of PAN (Permanent Account Number) with effect from July 1 2017. Non-compliance with the above provision would render the PAN of the defaulting individual invalid, attracting penalty proceedings under the Income Tax Rules.
In 2017, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of the said provision. Thereafter, many High Courts including the Delhi, Bombay, Madras, and Kerala had permitted individual assessees who could not link their aadhaar with the PAN to file returns manually without fulfilling the conditions. Last year also, the Supreme Court clarified that the PAN-aadhaar linkage is mandatory.
In February this year, the Supreme Court while reversing the Delhi High Court order allowing the taxpayer to file an income tax return without linking PAN with Aadhaar held that the rule must be compulsorily followed from the assessment year 2019-20.
