For those who are yet to link PAN with Aadhaar, the deadline is nearing to complete the process, failing which, they will be pushed to pay a fine. The Union government has given multiple extensions for linking PAN with Aadhaar and it has already announced that the last date to complete the process is March 31st, 2022- Thursday. 

If any taxpayers tend to complete the process after March 31st, they would be required to pay a penalty ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. The penalty was announced by the Income Tax Department and it also has said that not adhering to the deadline will make the PAN inactive, which denotes that a person will possess no PAN for income tax purposes and the people whose PAN go dormant would have difficulty in performing financial transactions like higher deposits, filing returns, and mutual funds. 

On March 29, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a notification in which it has said that delayed intimation of Aadhaar will attract a late fee of Rs 500 in cases where it is linked within the next three months or by  June 30, 2022. Thereafter Rs 1,000 must be paid by taxpayers as a penalty. According to PTI, Neeraj Agarwala, the partner of Noida based business consulting firm Nangia Andersen LLP said that the individuals who have not linked their Aadhaar may face multiple challenges. 

He said that while PAN is used for various transactions like opening a bank account, purchase of immovable property or proof of identity, failing to link the PAN with Aadhaar would make the PAN inactive, leading to several financial challenges. He further said, "Once your PAN becomes inactive, the person will be restricted from doing financial transactions subjected to TDS at higher rates and penalty under section 272B." 

The mandatory linking announcement was made years ago. However, the government has poured multiple extensions and earlier, the deadline was fixed for September 30, 2021. Later, it was extended till March 31, 2022. The government has said that no more extensions will be given and that the taxpayers should complete the process on or before the deadline. The government has asserted that it has made the process mandatory with the aim of eliminating fake PAN cards. 

How you can link your PAN with Aadhaar? 

Step 1: Open the Income Tax e-filing website and click on 'Link Aadhaar'. 

Step 2: Enter your PAN number, Aadhaar number, your full name, and mobile number. 

Step 3: Enter the captcha code.

Step 4: Click the Link Aadhaar button, you will receive a notification that your PAN is successfully linked with Aadhaar.