Here’s How to Apply for Instant e-PAN Card on New Income Tax Website

An identification number, Permanent Account Number (PAN), is an electronic system that keeps a record of all tax-related information of every taxpayer in India. It is a prime and exclusive system to not only collect and store tax information, but also map every transaction to each PAN. Therefore, an individual taxpayer is eligible to have only one PAN Card.

As per the mandate issued by the Income-tax Department, every individual, both income-earning and non-earning taxpayers, requires to hold a PAN. With the help of PAN, the IT Department offers a unique identity to each taxpayer, which is then mapped to the Earned Income under the individual head of income and the relevant tax bracket. As per the income tax Act, 1961, quoting on PAN in multiple financial transactions is mandatory to identify the income, expense and Deduction. Similarly, it is necessary to quote PAN for any investment made in ELSS Mutual Funds to claim the tax deduction, under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

7 different Types of PAN Cards in India

1. Individual
2. HUF-hindu undivided family
3. Firms/Partnership
4. Company
5. Society
6. Trusts
7. Foreigners

Steps to Apply for Instant e-PAN Card Through New Income Tax Website:

• You have to Login to the new official Income Tax website (incometax.gov.in).
• Then click on the services, placed in the extreme left.
• Press the button Instant E PAN.
• Click on New E PAN and enter Aadhaar number.
• Carefully read the terms and conditions. Then click on accept button.
• Now you will get an OTP on your registered mobile number that you have to enter.
• Then you are all set.
• To check other details, you can enter your e-mail and click on the confirm button.
• Your e-PAN will be sent on your registered e-mail ID.

Benefits of PAN Card

• PAN Card allows Income Tax transactions with a unique identity.
• Helps in filing Income Tax Returns.
• Can be used as a valid photo identity proof.
• Helps to deposit more than INR 50,000 at a time.
• Helps to sell or buy immovable property within the country.
• Through PAN, banker’s draft DD, cheque and pay orders can be purchased.
• Allows buying shares or Debentures of more than INR 1,00,000.
• Helps to open a Demat account, Bank account and apply for a credit card.
• It helps to open a bank account for a minor.

Documents Required for Instant e-PAN

• For an individual taxpayer, aadhaar card, Passport, Voter ID or Driving license is required as address and identity proof.
• For Hindu undivided family(HUF), an affidavit of HUF, issued by the head of HUF, is required.
• For Firms/Partnerships(LLP), Limited Liability Partnerships Deed, Certificate of Registration(issued by Registrar of Firms), are required.
• For companies, a Certificate of Registration(issued by Registrar of Companies) is required.
• For trusts, a photocopy of the Trust Deed Certificate of registration(issued by a Charity Commissioner) is required.
• For foreigners, PIO/OCI card(issued by the Indian Government), Passport, NRE bank statement in an Indian bank is required.

Revised Income Tax PAN Card Rules

The new amendments to the PAN rules, made by the Indian Ministry of Finance, are:

• PAN number is needed while making transactions during foreign travel or paying hotel bills of more than INR 50,000.
• The PAN number needs to be quoted during financial transactions more than INR 2,00,000.
• Furnishing PAN is necessary while purchasing immovable property, with a value of INR 10,00,000 or more.
• Quoting PAN number is mandatory while periodically Investing in a term deposit, that values more than INR 5,00,000. These kinds of periodical investments can be made with NBFCs, post offices, banks and other financial institutions.
• PAN cards are mandatory when paying a LIC premium of more than INR 50,000.

Importance of PAN Card

• With the help of PAN cards, the Income Tax Department tracks the financial transactions based on the information collected and evaluate the tax bracket. The tracking plays a very crucial role in processing the Income Tax Returns. The information submitted by the taxpayers is matched with the transactions available with the IT authorities.

• The PAN carries important data of the taxpayer like date of birth, father’s name etc and hence acts as identification proof. The Income Tax Department identifies whether the taxpayer is a senior citizen with the date of birth mentioned on the PAN Card.

• PAN determines the applicable income Tax Rate for individual taxpayers. The taxpayers who don’t have PAN will get a Flat 20% tax rate, irrespective of the tax slab they deserve. PAN cards avoid over taxation.

• PAN cards are required by both individuals and entities to file Income Tax Returns and Income Tax Refund. The PAN number needs to be quoted in both cases, failure of which will lead to non-acknowledgement of the Taxes paid and also unprocessed applications. This results in a situation where an individual/entity does not receive the refund. The Income Tax Refund status can be checked on the government portal.

• A tax collection method, TDS(Tax Deducted at Source), is implemented by the Indian government to deduct the tax amount at the time of disbursing the amount to an individual. Companies deducting TDS need to get a TDS certificate that will mention the deducted tax amount. A PAN card is mandatory for filing TDS certificates.

• To e-file the Income Tax Returns through the website, one needs to enter his/her PAN number for registration.