Last month, the Supreme Court said that linking PAN with Aadhaar was mandatory for filing. The apex court had declared the Aadhaar scheme constitutionally valid in September. Former CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra noted just 23 crore. The Income Tax Department has already asked taxpayers to link their Aadhaar with their PAN (Permanent Account Number) by 31 March this year to get seamless services online. Therefore, only two days remain to complete the procedure.
A PTI report said that last month, the Supreme Court had said that linking PAN with Aadhaar was mandatory for filing Income Tax returns (ITR).
A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer said the top court had already decided and upheld section 139AA of the Income Tax Act.
The court’s direction came on an appeal filed by the Centre against a Delhi High Court order allowing Shreya Sen and Jayshree Satpute to file Income Tax returns for 2018-19 without linking their Aadhaar and PAN numbers.
“We, therefore, make it clear that for the assessment year 2019-20, the income tax return shall be filed in terms of the judgment passed by this court. The special leave petition is disposed of in the above terms,” the bench ordered.
The apex court declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme constitutionally valid in September last year but struck down some of its provisions, including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones, and school admissions.
Last month, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stressed that Aadhaar-PAN linking is “mandatory” for those filing an ITR and must be “completed” by 31 March this year.
“The Supreme Court of India has upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar in September 2018. Consequently, in terms of Section 139AA of the Income Act, 1961 and the order on 30 June 2018 of the CBDT, Aadhaar-PAN linking is mandatory now which h, which is to be completed by 31 2019 by PAN holders requiring the filing of ITR,” the CBDT said.
Former CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra, at an event early this month, said that just 23 crore PAN card holders—over half of the total number of PAN card holders—have linked their cards with biometric ID Aadhaar so far.
He said the I-T Department has issued 42 crore PANs so far, of which 23 crores have been linked to Aadhaar.
Chandra said that once an Aadhaar is linked with a PAN and a PAN is connected with a bank account, the I-T department can find out the assessee’s spending pattern and other details.
