NEW DELHI: Your existing PAN card will remain valid under PAN 2.0 project and you will automatically receive an electronic version of the card in your mail ID, without having to apply for it. Those seeking a physical card, however, will have to apply and pay Rs 50 for it if they live within the country, the tax department said on Tuesday.
“If existing PAN holders want to make any correction/updation of their existing PAN details such as email, mobile or address or demographic details such as name, date of birth etc, they can do so at free of cost after the PAN 2.0 Project commences. Till the time the PAN 2.0 project is rolled-out, the PAN holders can avail the Aadhaar based online facility for updation/correction of email, mobile and address free-of-cost,” the Central Board of Direct taxes said in a set of FAQs released a day after the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) cleared a Rs 1,400 crore project.
The department also said QR codes will be part of the project, but the feature has already been rolled out, which helps in validating PAN and other details. The upgradation project will also see all PAN and TAN related services, currently hosted on three different portals (e-filing portal, UTIITSL and Protean e-Gov), move to the income tax department portal and will provide end-to-end services – from application to allotment, online validation, linking with Aadhaar and updation. The entire process will be paperless, CBDT said.
In line with the Budget 2023 announcement, govt has decided to make PAN the “common business identifier” for all digital systems of specified govt agencies. Although it is illegal to have more than one PAN, there are several entities and individuals, who violate the law and govt is hoping that once the project is rolled out, it will be easier to check such instances. Currently there is a database of 78 crore PANs and 73.3 lakh TANs in the country.
