Link Aadhaar PAN – Deadline 2023 NRI

by Whytecroft Ford | Mar 22, 2023 | Indian Law, Indian Law Weekly Round-Up, NRI Legal Services, OCI, PAN, Power of Attorney

If you are an NRI and are unsure whether you must link Aadhaar PAN, it is now a mandatory requirement. However with exception to those who fall under the exempt list. Furthermore, you may have received recent notifications from your Indian bank to link Aadhaar and PAN.

The Government of India’s deadline to link the cards was 31 March 2023. This has been extended to 30 June 2023. With PAN becoming inoperative by 01 July 2023.

In this segment we look at – Link Aadhaar PAN requirements. The implications of not linking both cards under the current rules. Along with their relationship with Indian property and banks for Overseas Indians.

Firstly, we revisit what an Aadhaar is.

Link Aadhaar PAN – Aadhaar Card

Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number.

Your Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India.

Aadhaar is an important part of the Indian administrative system. Below let’s look at a few important points about Aadhaar.

Aadhaar is valid for a lifetime
An individual will be given a single unique Aadhaar ID number
Enables identification for every resident Indian
One must apply for an Aadhaar
An Indian national can apply for Aadhaar
An NRI can apply for Aadhaar after residing in India for 182 days or more
An NRI who does not have 182 days residence or more does not require an Aadhaar

The official online address for Unique Identification Authority of India is: https://www.uidai.gov.in/en/

Proof of Identity & Address

In addition, the Aadhaar number serves as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in India.

Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, if you’re a resident in India.

You satisfy the verification process laid down by the UIDAI, you can enroll for Aadhaar.

Link Aadhaar PAN – PAN Card

The PAN is a Permanent Account Number.

Your PAN is issued by the Income Tax Department Government of India. You can apply for PAN as an Indian citizen or an Overseas Indian Citizen. It is mandatory for you to hold a PAN if your financial transactions fall under the Government of India parameters. PAN is related to financial transactions in India.

You can read in more detail on PAN in our previous segments.What is a PAN? How to apply for PAN? PAN for British Indian, PAN Documents, Overseas PAN Card Assistance from abroad, PAN E-Guide.

NRI & The Aadhaar

Now that we’ve detailed in brief about the Aadhaar Card and PAN Card. The next question is, “for an NRI is the Aadhaar Card mandatory?”

Whether an Aadhaar Card is mandatory for you in India depends on the length of time you actually stay in India.

For example;

If you reside in India for 182 days or more, then you can obtain an Aadhaar Card.

If you do not reside in India as per the eligibility, you do not require an Aadhaar Card.

Essentially, the Aadhaar acknowledges your Indian address officially as a form of ID. Subsequently, Aadhaar is used for a number of reasons in India. Such as a form of proof of address, banking, utility, government and non government areas.

If you hold a PAN and Aadhaar, an NRI or Foreign Citizen is exempt from linking the A-P. As recently updated by ITD.

In the next section we explore how to link the Aadhaar Card and PAN Card.

Link Aadhaar PAN

Firstly, “which portal do you use to link your cards?”

You will use the Income Tax Department Government of India official portal to link your Aadhaar and PAN Cards. On the first page of the portal you will find important notifications.

Previously, the Income Tax Department Government of India stated that the portal would become inoperative on 01 April 2023. You should also keep in mind that you may experience downtime on the portal as a result of network traffic. Therefore it is advisable for you to complete the necessary tasks as soon as possible.

The deadline has been extended to 30 June 2023 for linking Aadhar – PAN
ITD

Select Link Aadhaar and follow the process.

Check Status – Link Aadhaar PAN

Once you have completed the requirements as detailed above. You can check the status of your “link Aadhaar Pan” by using the ‘Link Aadhaar Status’ option, under quick links.

Notification – Central Board of Direct Taxes

In brief below, is a statement related to linking Aadhaar and PAN from the released circular by the CBDI in relation to the previous deadline of March 2023.

Accordingly, in case of failure to intimate the Aadhaar Number by the last extended notified date i.e. 31.03.2022, the PAN allotted to the person shall be made inoperative in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Further, the Finance Act, 2021 inserted a new section 234H in the Act to complete the process of PAN-Aadhaar linking for identifying bogus PANs. This section provides that where a person who is required to intimate his Aadhaar under subsection (2) of section 139 AA fails to do so on or before a notified date, he shall be liable to pay a fee not exceeding a sum of one thousand rupees, as may be prescribed, at the time of making intimation under sub-section (2) of section 139AA after the said date. 4. Further, rule 114AAA of the Income-tax Rules provides that if PAN of a person has become inoperative, he will not be able to furnish, intimate or quote his PAN and shall be liable to all the consequences under the Act for such failure. This will have a number of implications.

Implications for not Linking Aadhar – PAN

There are a number of issues that you may face if your Aadhaar and PAN are not linked.

Your PAN will be inoperative
You may experience delays in your Indian property transactions.
You may experience delays in your Indian bank transactions.
You may pay a fine.
You may not receive any due refunds.
You may also pay a higher rate of taxes.

Exemptions

The ITD have now updated their guidelines on Aadhaar-PAN linking for the following categories;

(i) NRIs – exempt

(ii) Not a citizen of India- exempt

(iii) age > 80 years as on date – exempt

In summary, if you have an Aadhaar Card and a PAN Card, you must ensure that you link both cards before the deadline whereby you do not fall into the exempt category. This will help avoid any subsequent non compliance implications.

Foreign Citizen (Form 49AA) Application Assistance

PAN Card E-Guide Service, guided assistance using the depositary portal at your own convenience.