PAN Card – What is PAN, Overview, Eligibility & How to Apply for PAN Card

PAN (Permanent Account Number) is an identification number assigned to all taxpayers in India. PAN is an electronic system through which, all tax-related information for a person/company is recorded against a single PAN number. This acts as the primary key for the storage of information and is shared across the country. Hence no two tax-paying entities can have the same PAN.

PAN Card – Overview

Name Of Authority issuing PAN	Income Tax Department, Govt. of India
PAN Customer Care Number	020 – 27218080
Inception of PAN Card	1972
Validity Of PAN Card	Life Time
Cost of PAN Card	Rs. 110
Number Of Enrolments	25 crore (approximate)

Eligibility for PAN

PAN Card is issued to individuals, companies, non-resident Indians or anyone who pays taxes in India.

Types of PAN

1. Individual
2. HUF-Hindu undivided family
3. Company
4. Firms/Partnerships
5. Trusts
6. Society
7. Foreigners

Documents for PAN

PAN requires two types of documents. Proof of address (POA) and Proof of Identity (POI). Any two of the following documents should meet the criteria

Individual Applicant	POI/ POA- Aadhaar, Passport, Voter ID, Driving Licence
Hindu Undivided Family	An affidavit of the HUF issued by the head of HUF along with POI/POA details
Company registered in India	Certificate of Registration issued by Registrar of Companies
Firms/ Partnership (LLP)	Certificate of Registration issued by the Registrar of Firms/ Limited Liability Partnerships and Partnership Deed.
Trust	Copy of Trust Deed or a copy of the Certificate of Registration Number issued by a Charity Commissioner.
Society	Certificate of Registration Number from Registrar of Co-operative Society or Charity Commissioner
Foreigners	Passport PIO/ OCI card issued by the Indian Government Bank statement of the residential country Copy of NRE bank statement in India

The Cost of PAN Card

The cost of PAN card is 93 (excluding GST) for Indian communication address and Rs. 864 (excluding GST) for foreign communication address.

How to Enrol for PAN

Whether Online or Offline, you can enrol for PAN in 3 simple steps

• Visiting the official PAN – NSDL/UTIITSL website
• Fill the form with your details.
• Submit the required documents.
• Pay the processing fee.
• PAN will be dispatched within 15 days.

How to Update/Edit PAN Details?

PAN can be updated by the following steps:

• Go to the UTIITSL website and select the update PAN section
• Select option “Change/Correction in PAN Card” in existing PAN data
• On the next page, click on “Apply for Change/Correction in PAN Card details” option
• Enter the details which needs to be changed, upload the documents and click on the “Submit” button.
• Pay the processing fee.
• PAN will be dispatched within 15 days.

Do’s and Don’ts for Filling up PAN update Form

• The form must be filled using only capital letters
• Fill in all the fields for updating
• A mobile number is compulsory for any updates to take place
• Fill out the form in English and the local language used at the time of enrolment
• Make sure the form is filled only with current and relevant details
• Names must not have salutations such as Mr / Mrs / Ms / Dr
• Make sure that the full and complete address is filled for the PAN to be dispatched to the address
• Enter name clearly with signature or thumbprints when self-attesting supporting documents
• Attach relevant documents that support the required update only
• Incorrect information and lack of support documents will cause the application to be rejected

Lost PAN card?

If you have lost your PAN card, not to worry. Apply for a duplicate PAN card online or offline. Login to NSDL or UTIITSL website, Fill the form 49-A for Indian citizens or Form 49-AA in case of a foreigner and make the payment online for a duplicate copy of your PAN card. The PAN will be dispatched within 45 days.

How long is the PAN card valid?

The PAN is valid for a lifetime.

Can a PAN card be made online?

Yes. PAN can be made online through the following steps:

• Visiting the official PAN – NSDL/UTIITSL website
• Fill the form 49A or 49AA for (Indian/Foreigner) with your details.
• Submit the required documents.
• Pay the processing fee.
• PAN will be dispatched within 15 days.

Tracking PAN Applications and Transactions

The Income Tax Business Application (ITBA) has now enabled a tracking facility for transactions made with PAN for calculation of tax purposes.

Structure of PAN Card

PAN card contains information such as an identity, and age proof and also complies with the Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines. PAN card details are as follows:

• Name of the cardholder – Individual/ Company
• Name of the father of the cardholder – Applicable for individual cardholders.
• Date of birth – the cardholder’s date of birth in case of an individual or date of registration is mentioned in the case of a company or firm.
• PAN Number – It is a 10-letter alpha-numeric number and each character represents distinct information of the cardholder.

• The first three letters – are purely alphabetical in nature and contain three-letter of the alphabet from A to Z.
• The fourth letter – represents the category of the taxpayer. The various entities and their respective characters are as follows:

1. A – Association of Persons
2. B – Body of Individuals
3. C – Company
4. F – Firms
5. G – Government
6. H – Hindu Undivided Family
7. L – Local Authority
8. J – Artificial Judicial Person
9. P – Individual
10. T – Association of Persons for a Trust

• The fifth letter – the fifth letter is the first letter of the individual’s surname
• The remaining letters – the remaining characters are random. The first 4 characters are numbers while the last one is an alphabet.
• Signature of the individual – PAN Card also acts as proof of the individual’s signature required for financial transactions.
• Photograph of the individual – PAN acts as a photo identity proof of the individual. In the case of companies and firms, no photograph is present on the card.

Why do you need PAN?

PAN is a unique identification number that enables each tax-paying entity of India with the following:

• Proof of Identity
• Proof of Address
• Mandatory for Filing Taxes
• Registration of Business
• Financial transactions
• Eligibility to open and operate Bank Accounts
• Phone Connection
• Gas Connection
• Mutual Fund – PAN is beneficial to complete e-KYC for mutual fund investments.

The union budget 2019 has proposed for taxpayers to use Aadhaar instead of PAN for filing income tax returns on or after 1 September 2019. It has been proposed in the union budget 2019 that the Income-tax officer can themselves allot PAN to taxpayers filing returns with Aadhaar.

PAN for e-KYC (know your customer)

PAN to Aadhaar linking is mandatory for e-KYC and verification to avail services and benefits from respective service providers. PAN for e-KYC is a large service requirement from many service providers and has huge benefits for the end-user and government as well. Here’s why :

• Paperless- The e-KYC process is paperless enabling a service provider to manage documents easily and efficiently.
• Quick – PAN card holders can share information with a service provider through a secure channel within minutes, thus eliminating long waiting periods that physical documents would normally require.
• Secure –  Information shared between user and service provider is tamper-proof digital documents sent through secured channels, thereby protecting the holder’s information. These documents cannot be forged, nor can they be used without the consent of both the service provider and the PAN card holder.
• Authorised – Information shared by e-KYC contains authenticated data making it legal and acceptable for the parties involved in the transaction.
• Cost Friendly – The entire system is paperless and online eliminating the physical movement of information making it a cost-effective and time-saving process.

Other Important Links

• Aadhaar Card
• Link Aadhaar to Pan
• E-pan card