Response of the Income Tax Dept Regarding 10 Billion NRIs’ Inactive PANs
The Income Tax Department has addressed concerns raised by social media users regarding the linking of PAN (Permanent Account Number) with Aadhaar cards. Despite the deadline for Aadhaar-PAN linking having passed, the tax department continues to receive inquiries and respond to claims.
One Twitter user, who identified as a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), alleged that over 10 crore NRIs had their PANs made “Inactive”, which could potentially result in freezing their investments and bank balances in India.
In response, the Income Tax Department clarified that failing to link Aadhaar with PAN renders the PAN inactive and has various consequences. However, NRIs who had informed the Department of their NRI status were already exempted from PAN-Aadhaar linking, and their PANs remain active and functional.
The department further stated that individuals who have not yet informed the Department of their NRI status should contact their Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) online. They are required to provide supporting documents, such as a copy of their PAN card and passport showing their period of residence outside India, to update their status in the PAN database.
Addressing another NRI user whose PAN had become inoperative, the tax department instructed them to send an email to adg1.systems@incometax.gov.in and jd.systems1.1@incometax.gov.in with the taxpayer’s details and supporting documents proving their non-resident status. The department assured that their team would look into the matter.
The deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar by paying a late fee of Rs 1000 ended on June 30. For individuals who had paid the fee but failed to link the two, the tax department assured that such cases would be duly considered.
