Linking PAN and Aadhaar runs into name hurdle

The amended Finance Act insists on quoting Aadhaar to retain your permanent account number (PAN), but the government is now dealing with the practical difficulties of ensuring this linkage.

While PAN requires disclosure of the full name of the individual including the initials in a name, the Aadhaar database does not insist on disclosure of the full name of the individual.

This has meant that many taxpayers have not been able to link their PAN with Aadhaar.

Changing of names is also not an easy process with the tax department prodding taxpayers to get their names changed in the Aadhaar database rather than in the PAN database.

A senior finance ministry official said the government is aware of this issue and is looking at ways to make it easier for people to link PAN with Aadhaar. “There is time for the linkage to happen. We will notify the window within which PAN has to be linked with Aadhaar post 1 July. In the meanwhile, we are seeing how the linkage can happen seamlessly. We will work with the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to resolve this,” the official said.

According to the provisions of Finance Act 2017, Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment number will be mandatory to file income-tax returns and to apply for a new PAN.

The government has over the last few months moved swiftly to link many government schemes with Aadhaar.

Besides PAN, the Cabinet recently approved a proposal to make Aadhaar mandatory for a driving licence. But given the varied ways in which authorities collect data for various government identities, linking of Aadhaar with other identities will not be an easy task.

“The name that appears on the Aadhaar card is based on the identity proof submitted by the person. In case a person has two different names on PAN and Aadhaar cards, then they will have to get it corrected or updated either with UIDAI or the income-tax department,” said Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, UIDAI.