Any individual or entity can apply PAN Card or Permanent Account Number card. It is a means of recognising the different taxpayers in the country.

  • PAN is a unique identification number assigned to those who pay tax.
  • It is a computer-based system that assigns a unique identification number to every Indian tax paying person. All the information of a person is recorded against a single PAN number.
  • PAN is shared across the country and hence no two tax paying persons can have the same PAN.

PAN Card Application

You can apply for PAN Card online by NSDL as well as through the UTIISL (UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited) website or by applying at any of the district level PAN agencies. A signed Form 49A along with the identity proof and address proof of the applicant is required.

Moreover, you can apply PAN (duplicate) if you lost or misplaced the card. The individual who has to apply PAN Card can track the status of PAN application via the acknowledgement number furnished by NSDL.

Documents required for PAN

Following are the list of the documents which are required:

  • Passport
  • Adhaar card
  • Driving license
  • Voters identity card
  • Photo ID card
  • Ration card having photograph of the candidate
  • Arms license
  • Pension card

There are two types of forms for a PAN Card-

  • Form 49A– Form 49A is the PAN Card Application form for all Indian citizens, NRI, Companies, firms, NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations), partnership firms, local bodies, trusts etc.. PAN cards for minors and students have to be applied by submitting Form 49A as well.
  • Form 49AA-
  1. FORM 49AA is to be submitted by foreign nationals who are pay tax in the country.
  2. Firms, Limited liability companies, trusts, Body of Individuals and Association of Persons registered outside India have to submit these forms when they apply PAN card for tax purposes in India.
  3. OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) and NRE (Non-Resident Entity) individuals will have to apply for a PAN card using this form.

Online Process of PAN Card

The online process for apply PAN card is mentioned below:

  • Visit the TIN NSDL or UTIISL websites and select the ‘New PAN’ option
  • Choose Form 49A for Indian citizens (including NRE/NRI/OCI individuals)
  • Fill details in the online form, like full name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, income details etc.
  • On filling the form, submit it and pay the processing fee
  • Print the page with the 15 digit acknowledgement and sign in the space provided.
  • Affix passport sized photographs on the acknowledgement, proof of identity and proof of address documents and Demand Draft (if you are paying through DD).
  • And sent to the NSDL office by post within 15 days of submitting the online application. And then PAN card will be sent to the given address within a period of 15 working days.

Offline Process of PAN Card

  • Collect a copy from UTIISL agents or download the PAN card application form from the NSDL or UTIISL websites.
  • Fill the form and attach supporting documents (proof of identity, address and photographs)
  • Submit the form and documents to the NSDL office along with the processing fee.
  • The PAN card will be sent to the given address within a period of 15 working days.

Structure of PAN Card

Content of PAN Card

There are details printed on the PAN card and you are not supposed to change with the passage of time.

Here are the details that are captured in a PAN card issued to an individual taxpayer.

  • Permanent Account Number (Along with built-in status of the assessee and check alphabet)
  • Full name of the PAN card holder
  • Name of father of PAN card holder
  • Date of Birth
  • Photograph
  • Signature

PAN card captures for entities other than individual are listed below:

  • Permanent Account Number (Along with built-in status of the assessee and check alphabet)
  • Full name
  • Date of incorporation

Information listed on the PAN card is first checked and furnished by the PAN applicant in form 49A.

Structure of PAN card

  • First Three Characters

The first three characters of PAN are a sequence of alphabets from AAA to ZZZ

  • Fourth Character

The fourth character signifies the type of taxpayer that you are.

  • A — Association of Persons (AOP)
  • B — Body of Individuals (BOI)
  • C — Company
  • F — Firm
  • G — Government
  • H — HUF (Hindu Undivided Family)
  • L — Local Authority
  • J — Artificial Judicial Person
  • P — Individual
  • T — AOP (Trust)
  • K — Krish (Trust Krish)

So if a person obtains PAN card then, his/her PAN will have the fourth character as ‘P’ which i.e. individual taxpayer.

  • Fifth Character

The fifth character in PAN is the first letter of your surname. So, if a person is named ‘Harshit Bansal, the fifth character of his PAN will be ‘B’

  • Last Character

Type of PAN Cards

The Income tax Department has mandated that all tax paying entities register and possess a PAN card.

  • PAN Card for Individuals
  • PAN Card for Companies
  • PAN for foreign citizens in India

Mandatory uses of PAN

  • PAN needs to be quoted while paying direct taxes
  • PAN information needs to be mandatorily furnished while registering a business
  • Taxpayers need to input their PAN when paying income tax
  • A lot of financial transactions require PAN information. Some of these transactions are:
    1. Sale or purchase of property (immovable) which is valued at Rs.5 lakh or above
    2. Sale or purchase of a vehicle except for a two-wheeler
    3. Payments that are made towards hotels and restaurants and which are above Rs.25,000
    4. Payments made in connection with travel requirements to other countries. The amount in this case if it exceeds Rs.25,000, then an individual needs to quote his/her PAN
    5. Making payments of more than Rs.50,000 towards bank deposits in a bank
    6. Acquiring bonds by paying an amount equal to or greater than Rs.50,000
    7. Purchase of jewellery and bullion also require PAN information of the purchaser to be furnished if the Payments made  for more than Rs.5 lakhs
    8. Any purchase of mutual fund schemes
    9. Any amount more than Rs,50,000 used for purchasing shares
    10. Any payment of more than Rs.50,000 made towards acquiring an insurance policy needs PAN information of the policyholder
    11. To Remit money out of India
    12. Pan information is required for transfer of funds from NRE to NRO account

Advantages of PAN

  • It can be used as a valid identity proof throughout the country
  • To keep track of your tax payment. Otherwise, you might be required to pay it multiples times since your tax payment cannot be verified
  • PAN card can be used as a document that is required to avail connections like electricity, telephone, LPG and the internet.
  • It is used to track all the financial information like payment of taxes, investments made and debt liability of an entity, to a single customer.

Eligibility of PAN

Those people can apply PAN who falls under any of the following categories.

Following are the taxpaying entities that are required to have a Permanent Account Number as under Section 139A.

  • Any person who has paid tax or is liable to pay tax to the Income Tax Department
  • Any person who is carrying out a business or professional practice which earns a yearly turnover of Rs,5,00,000 or more in the previous year of assessment
  • All kinds of trusts in the country
  • Importers and exporters who are liable to pay any form of tax or duty charges as per the Income Tax Act or as per any other law, currently in force

What Happens If I Don’t Have a PAN Card?

If your income falls into a taxable bracket, and not having a PAN card then there are some conditions:

  • 30% tax on your earnings and wealth, as stipulated by the Income Tax Department of India.
  • you will be unable to purchase a motor vehicle, buy immovable property worth over Rs. 10 lakh, and open an account with any bank in the country among other activities.
  • Businesses too will be charged TDS at a 30%  and will be unable to conduct a large chunk of their activities since quoting PAN has now become mandatory for everything from purchasing land in India to rendering any sort of professional services in the country.

Steps to get duplicate PAN Card

If you misplace the PAN card or lost then you can get the duplicate PAN card, the steps below should be followed in order to procure a duplicate PAN card.

  • You must visit the official web portal of NSDL and apply for a ‘PAN Change Request’ form and fill in all the details.
  • If you wish to get the new card without changing the previous details of your PAN card then after filling all details, they should not select any box on the left of the margin.
  • As long as there are no changes to be made in the PAN card, their address will be updated in the database of ITD based on the address provided in the form.
  • After this submit the document of your identity proof i.e. passport or Adhaar number, a document for address proof such as Voter’s ID or utility bill, along with proof of issuance of PAN number such as a photocopy of the damaged/lost PAN card and submit the form.
  • A nominal fee will have to be paid online either through credit card/debit card or net banking after which they will receive an acknowledgement through which they can track the status of their application.