News Analysis India

Tag: Aadhaar card

  • PAN to become inoperative after March 2023 if not linked to Aadhaar

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department on Wednesday said non-linking of PAN with Aadhaar by March 31 would attract penalty of up to Rs 1,000, but such PAN will remain functional for one more year till March 2023, for filing ITR, claiming refunds and other I-T procedures.

    The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which is the apex decision making body on direct taxes, has extended the deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar many times and the last date now is March 31, 2022.

    As per a circular issued by CBDT on Wednesday, PAN, not linked to Aadhaar, would become “inoperative” after March 31, 2023.

    Those taxpayers who link their PAN with biometric Aadhaar by June 30, 2022, would be required to pay late fees of Rs 500.

    Beyond that, the penalty would rise to Rs 1,000.

    In order to mitigate the inconvenience to taxpayers, as per notification dated March 29, 2022, a window of opportunity has been provided to taxpayers up to March 31, 2023 to intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions, the CBDT said, adding such intimation would have to be accompanied by late fees.

    “However, till 31st March, 2023 the PAN of the assessees who have not intimated their Aadhaar, will continue to be functional for the procedures under the Act, like furnishing of return of income, processing of refunds etc,” the CBDT statement said.

    After March 31, 2023, the PAN of taxpayers who fail to intimate their Aadhaar, as required, shall become inoperative and all the consequences under the Act for not furnishing, intimating or quoting the PAN shall apply to such taxpayers, the CBDT added.

    As per data available, till January 24, 2022, more than 43.34 crore PANs have been linked with Aadhaar.

    Over 131 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued so far.

    PAN-Aadhaar linkage would help in eliminating duplicate PAN and curbing tax evasion.

    AKM Global, Tax Partner, Amit Maheshwari said “It is advisable for taxpayers to check their income tax portal and ensure that Aadhaar and PAN are linked. NRIs may have some concerns since in some cases they do not have Aadhaar.”

    Nangia Andersen LLP Partner Neeraj Agarwala said, while PAN is used for various transactions like opening a bank account, purchase of immovable property or proof of identity, inactive PAN will trigger domino effect and individual who have not linked their Aadhaar may face multiple challenges.

    “Once your PAN becomes inactive, the person will be restricted from doing financial transactions (where quoting of PAN is mandatory like mutual funds), subjected to TDS at higher rates and penalty under section 272B,” Agarwala said.

    For those who do not have access to income tax portal, the linking process is made available through SMS also, he added.

  • Non-linking of PAN with Aadhaar by March 31 to attract penalty of Rs 500-1,000

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Taxpayers not linking PAN with Aadhaar by March 31 would be required to pay a penalty ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000, the income tax department has said.

    The last date for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with biometric Aadhaar is March 31, 2022. Not adhering to the deadline will lead to PAN becoming inactive.

    In a notification, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said delayed intimation of Aadhaar will attract a late fee of Rs 500 in cases where it is linked within the next 3 months or by June 30, 2022.

    Thereafter, Rs 1,000 would have to be paid by taxpayers as penalty. Non-linking of PAN with Aadhaar will lead to PAN becoming inoperative after March 31, 2022. It can be reoperationalised on payment of penalty, said a CBDT notification dated March 29.

    AKM Global, Tax Partner, Amit Maheshwari said the government after extending the deadline several times for linking Aadhaar with PAN has finally come up with a late fees notification where Rs 500 penalty would be attracted for the first three months beginning April 1, 2022 and thereafter Rs 1,000.

    “Any failure may lead to PAN becoming inoperative, which deems that a person had no PAN for income-tax purposes. It is advisable for taxpayers to check their income tax portal and ensure that Aadhaar and PAN are linked. NRIs may have some concerns since in some cases they do not have Aadhaar,” Maheshwari said.

    Nangia Andersen LLP Partner Neeraj Agarwala said it is now mandatory to link the Aadhaar number with PAN to complete income tax-related tasks such as filing returns on income.

    While PAN is used for various transactions like opening a bank account, purchase of immovable property or proof of identity, inactive PAN will trigger domino effect and individual who have not linked their Aadhaar may face multiple challenges.

    “Once your PAN becomes inactive, the person will be restricted from doing financial transactions (where quoting of PAN is mandatory like mutual funds), subjected to TDS at higher rates and penalty under section 272B,” Agarwala said.

    For those who do not have access to income tax portal, the linking process is made available through SMS also, he added.

  • Man who admittedly got 11 shots of Covid-19 vaccine threatens to kill himself if police takes action against him

    By Online Desk

    CHENNAI: Brahmdeo Mandal, the man who vaccinated himself 11 times against Covid-19 has threatened to take his life if he is prosecuted.

    He has been booked by Puraini police under non-bailable sections based on a complaint lodged by medical (in-charge) officer of community health centre at Puraini in Madhepura district, Dr Vinay Krishna Prasad

    According to a report in a leading national daily Mandal has also appealed to prime minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter and clear him of the charges levelled against him.

    The 84-year-old retired postman has claimed that he received 11 doses of vaccine resulting in an FIR being filed against him on charges of misleading the health department.

    Mandal, a resident of Oray village, duped the health department employees and took jabs repeatedly in a span of 10 months.

    Mandal reportedly used his Aadhaar card and voter ID to get himself registered for the vaccine doses.

    Mandal claimed the multiple jabs helped him get rid of body aches and pains without any side effects.

  • UIDAI plans to open 166 standalone Aaadhar enrolment and update centres

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has plans to open 166 standalone Aaadhar enrolment and update centres across the country, an official statement said on Saturday.

    At present, 55 Aadhaar Seva Kendras (ASKs) out of the 166 planned centres are operational in addition to about 52,000 Aadhaar enrolment centres run by banks, post offices and state governments.

    “UIDAI plans to open 166 stand-alone Aadhaar Enrolment and Update Centres in 122 cities across the country,” the statement said.

    The ASKs are open on all days of the week and have so far catered to over 70 lakh residents including Divyang persons.

    The operational centres have a capacity to handle up to 1,000 enrolments and update requests per day for Model-A ASKs, upto 500 enrolments and update requests per day for Model B ASKs and up to 250 enrolments and update requests per day for Model C ASKs.

    As on date, over 130.9 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated.

  • PAN-Aadhaar linkage deadline extended till March 2022

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The government on Friday extended by six months till March 2022 the deadline to link PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar.

    In a statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said to address the hardship being faced by various stakeholders on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline has been extended which will ease compliance.

    “Time limit for intimation of Aadhaar number to the Income tax Department for linking of PAN with Aadhaar has been extended from 30th September, 2021 to 31st March, 2022,” it said.

    Also, the due date for completion of penalty proceedings under the I-T Act has been extended from September 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

    Further, the time limit for issuance of notice and passing of order by the Adjudicating Authority under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 has been extended to March 2022.

  • Maharashtra: Teen reunited with family in Uttar Pradesh due to Aadhaar card details

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: A 15-year-old specially-abled and speech impaired boy found at Nagpur railway station two years ago was reunited with his parents in Uttar Pradesh due to his Aadhaar card details, an official said on Monday.

    The teen was brought to the Government Children’s Home for Boys (Junior) here last year from a similar facility in Chandrapur district after being found at Nagpur railway station on August 5, 2019, Superintendent Vindo Daberao said.

    “We were trying to get him registered on the Aadhaar system but his details were getting rejected repeatedly. We visited the Aadhaar seva kendra at Mankapur on Jun 16 this year, from where, on July 26, we came to know of his real name and address,” he told PTI.

    The seva’s kendra’s manager Anil Marathe told PTI the child’s details were getting rejected due to biometric issues and the technical support department in Bengaluru was requested to help.

    “We found that his Aadhaar card had already been made in 2016 in Itoribazar in Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh and that his name was Shivam Chauhan,” he said.

    Daberao said local police managed to contact their counterparts in Sonikpur in UP’s Jaunpur on July 27 and the teen was handed over to his family on August 3.

  • HC seeks UIDAI, Centre’s response on issuance of new Aadhaar number to existing cardholders

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought response from Centre and UIDAI on a petition seeking mechanism and procedure for issuance of new Aadhaar number to existing card holders.

    Justice Rekha Palli issued notice on the petition filed by businessman Rajan Arora who apprehends that his personal details including Aadhaar number have been compromised.

    Apart from seeking a direction to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to issue fresh Aadhaar number for Arora, the petition also seeks directions from court for protection of the fundamental right of privacy and prevention of further breach and damages.

    Advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for UIDAI, submitted that the moment an Aadhaar number is issued, the person concerned and the number are ‘locked together for life’.

    The court, however, responded that had that been the case, power would not have been given to UIDAI under Section 23(n) of the Aadhaar (Targeted delivery of Financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Act of 2016 to lay down conditions and procedure for issuance of new Aadhaar number for exiting holders.

    “You have the power. It can’t be read in such a pragmatic manner (if it can’t be changed) then the rule has to go. It can be exercised in some manner,” the court said.

    The court added that it nonetheless agreed that an Aadhaar number could not be changed ‘at the whims and fancies’ of a user.

    In the petition filed through advocates Sonal Anand and Surabhi Singh, the petitioner informed the court that his Aadhaar number was found to be linked with certain overseas entities unknown to him.

    Thereafter, he requested UIDAI to issue him a new Aadhaar number in light of a serious threat to his identity, the plea said adding that UIDAI took a stand that no resident could have a duplicate Aadhaar number and that there was no process for issuance of a new Aadhaar number to any citizen.

    It is further stated in the petition that although there is a provision under the Aadhaar Act for issuance of new Aadhaar number to the existing users, yet UIDAI is not inclined to issue a new number to him.

    The petitioner said he is facing difficulties in his business on account of the exiting Aadhaar being linked to the overseas entity.

    The matter would be heard next on September 9.

  • Aadhaar more than 12 digits for ex-Reds

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR:  For surrendered CPI-Maoist cadres, Aadhaar is just not merely 12 digits. It means a new life. The document establishes their identity as bonafide citizens — something which was not possible during their days as outlaws.

    Under the special initiative Lon Varratu-2, the former rebels are enrolled for Aadhaar by the Dantewada police and district administration, to facilitate them avail the benefits of ration card, bank account, smart health card, voter identity card among others. It does not end there. They are now being administered Covid vaccines, thanks to their Aadhaar.

    Former Maoist cadres are handedAadhaar at an event | eXPRESSIn Dantewada district, 375 Maoists had surrendered after seeing the success of ‘Lon Varratu’ (in local tribal Gondi dialect meaning return to your home/village) campaign which was launched a year ago. There are 454 surrendered rebels listed in the district since 2019 to be covered under the ongoing Lon Varratu-2.

    “It gives a feel of being a part of the mainstream and living a dignified life. We are now entitled to receive government benefits too,” said Sukhnath Potam, a resident of Narayanpur and former Maoist who got his first vaccine dose. 

    “Now, my family has MNREGS job card, thanks to Aadhaar,” said Mata Kawasi from Bijapur. The project apparently works on the dictum that with the Aadhaar card issued by UIDAI, no one should be deprived of the benefits associated with it.

    “Based in the conflict zone, their situation is different from among the millions of Indians who initially didn’t have any reliable or recognised identity documentation. Aadhaar is the first form of legitimate identity which the surrendered rebels will now acquire under Lon Varratu-2,” said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada district police chief.

    A few months ago, Dantewada police carried out a feedback survey from the surrendered Maoists in the villages. “We found not even 25 of the 454 rebels who surrendered since 2019 had Aadhaar. They remain deprived of various beneficial services and welfare programmes. So we launched Lon Varratu-2 from May 31,” the SP added.  

    The ongoing initiative so far has facilitated 139 Aadhaar cards, 100 ration cards, 135 voter identity cards and 129 bank accounts for the surrendered Maoists. The Bastar police hope such initiatives will encourage other Maoists to surrender and help them return to  the mainstream.

  • Rajasthan HC asks Gehlot govt, Centre to furnish report on vaccine availability for Pakistan Hindu migrants

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has asked the Central Government to furnish a factual report on  the availability of vaccines to the state government for Pakistani Migrants settled in Rajasthan who do not have prescribed identity cards. The Court has also asked the State and the District administration to chalk out a plan for vaccinating the Pakistani Hindu Migrants settled in Rajasthan, further ordering the Gehlot government to provide food on a priority basis to them during the lockdown.

    While the Indian citizens over 18 are being vaccinated against coronavirus, the Pakistani Hindu migrants living in Rajasthan are being turned away from vaccine centers as they do not have Aadhaar cards. Activists had claimed that 10 Pakistani Hindu migrants have succumbed to Covid due to lack of medical facilities. 

    In all, 50 people had been found positive while 1,500 people have an influenza-like illness. But none of them received any medical attention. 

    A bench of Justice Vijay Vishnoi and Justice Rameshwar Vyaas on Thursday heard the case. On behalf of Pakistani migrants, it was submitted that in the absence of an Aadhaar card, the eligible Pakistani migrants were deprived of vaccination. Seemant Loksanghthan, an NGO working for the rights of Pakistani migrants, had requested to vaccinate all the eligible migrants but the same has not been taken into consideration.

    ALSO READ | Pakistani Hindu migrants in Rajasthan appeal to PM Modi for vaccination based on travel documents

    Further, Mukesh Rajpurohit, ASG, and Vipul Singhvi, ASG, had submitted that the Centre had already issued an SOP on Covid vaccination of persons without identity cards thorough CO-WIN.

    Court directed AAG KS Rajpurohit to apprise it about the steps taken by the district administration in pursuance of the SOP dated May 6 issued by the central government regarding vaccination of those who do not have any prescribed ID cards.

    Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district is the biggest hub for Pakistani migrants in the country. More than 30,000 Pakistani Hindu migrants are living in Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Jaisalmer waiting for their citizenship.

    The court observed that it is a serious issue and no person residing in the state can be allowed to starve due to non-availability of food. It directed the State Government to furnish a report regarding the availability of ration to the Pakistani migrants residing in Jodhpur by May 28.

  • Government extends deadline for linking PAN-Aadhaar by three months till June 30

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday extended the deadline for linking PAN with biometric Aadhaar by three months till June 30.

    The income tax department said it has received representations from taxpayers that the last date for intimating the Aadhaar number may further be extended in the wake of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Keeping in view the difficulties faced by the taxpayers, the Central Government has issued notification today extending the last date for the intimation of Aadhaar number and linking thereof with PAN to 30th June, 2021,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

    In June last year, the Government had extended the deadline for linking them till March 31, 2021.

    As per data available, till August last year 32.71 crore PANs were linked to the biometric ID.

    The total PAN allotment as on June 29, 2020, stood at 50.95 crore.

    The government has already made quoting of Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs) as well as obtaining a new Permanent Account Number ( PAN).