The income-tax department would soon start issuing instant permanent account number (PAN) online in India using the applicant’s Aadhaar details, according to a report in the Times of India.
As of now, applicants are required to fill up a form and submit documents to get a PAN card, which takes up to 15 days. But that may change with the instant e-PAN facility, which would be available free of cost and “on a near to real time” basis, according to the report.
Those applying for instant e-PAN would be required to quote their basic details like name and address along with their Aadhaar details, and verify them using a one-time password (OTP) on their registered mobile phone number. Aadhaar already has details such as address, father’s name and date of birth, so there will be no need to upload any physical document. However, applicants need to ensure that their Aadhaar details are correct as the application may get rejected in case of data mismatch.
After the Aadhar details are verified using the OTP, the applicant will be issued a digitally signed e-PAN with a QR code which will carry the demographic data besides photo of the applicant, the report added. As a security measure, the information in the QR code will be encrypted to prevent forgery or digital photoshopping, the report quoted an official as saying.
“The move is part of greater digitisation of income tax services and aimed at providing the facility without anyone having to visit any office,” the official told TOI.
The instant e-PAN service would be launched nationwide over the next few weeks after a successful pilot test issued more than 62,000 e-PANs over eight days, according to the report. The facility would also help those with an existing PAN get a duplicate in a matter of minutes.
Keywords: Income Tax, PAN, permanent account number, income-tax department
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