No data yet on unlinked PANs

The Supreme Court upheld the validity of linking two identification cards, that is, the permanent account number (PAN) with Aadhaar. Data reveals that as on September 26, 21,08,16,676 PAN cards had been linked with Aadhaar numbers, out of the total 41,02,66,969 PAN cards issued by the IT department.

According to figures sourced from the Income tax department, a total operational or issued PANs are over (41,02,66,969), which means over 50 per cent of the PAN cards has been linked with Aadhaar so far.

Doubts about the remaining unlinked PAN cards being fraudulent or deactivated, lie unanswered and the government is yet to strike them off or initiate action. In June 2018, the Central government extended the deadline of linking Aadhaar with PAN to March 31, 2019.

Sources explained, “Countrywide over 400 million Indians hold PAN cards. The data shows 21,08,16,676 cards have been linked so far. The doubts about the remaining 19,94,50,293, being fraudulent, deactivated, unlinked are unanswered. There is no data or record issued by the government on the unlinked cards. But, as per the law, it is for government agencies to either suspend such fraudulent cards or inform the bankers under the Prevention of Money Laundering act. Now, that the data of linked cards are out, the government can disqualify the deactivated PAN cards”.

The government also has not put out data on how many tax payers have filed returns after PAN was made mandatory.