The government has proposed to make Aadhaar card mandatory for filing income tax return and also applying for permanent account number (PAN).
The new proposal has been made through an amendment to the Finance Bill.
Recently, the I-T department had announced a mobile app for paying taxes and tracking of refunds. It had also said it was considering issuing PANs on real time basis using Aadhaar biometric.
"Income Tax department is considering issuing of Permanent Account Number (PAN) on a real time basis using Aadhaar's e-KYC facility. The proposal is at an initial stage of consideration," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar had said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on March 10.
Aadhaar-based e-KYC facility would allow individuals or entities wanting to apply for PAN to verify details such as date of birth or address by way of biometric identification using thumb impressions.
So far, more than 111 crore Aadhar numbers have been issued. The unique identification number is being used for getting a new SIM card, for opening bank accounts, transfer of subsidies and also for biometric based digital payments under Aadhaar Enabled Payment System.
As per the government estimate, every year 2.5 crore people across the country apply for PAN cards.
There are more than 25 crore PAN card holders in the country.
Source : The Economic Times
