The Central Board of Direct Taxes vide its notification dated 30th March 2022 has issued clarification with respect to relaxation of provisions of rule 114AAA of Income-tax Rules, 1962 prescribing the manner of making Permanent Account Number (PAN) inoperative.
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.
Sub-section (2) of section 139AA of the Act makes it mandatory for every person who has been allotted a PAN as on 1 st July, 2017 to intimate his Aadhaar Number so that the Aadhaar and PAN can be linked. This is required to be done on or before a notified date, failing which the PAN shall become inoperative.
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.
However till 31st March, 2023 the PAN of the assessees who have not intimated their Aadhaar, will continue to be functional for the procedures under the Act, like furnishing of return of income, processing of refunds etc
After 31st March, 2023, the PAN of taxpayers who fail to intimate their Aadhaar, as required, shall become inoperative and all the consequences under the Act for not furnishing, intimating or quoting the PAN shall apply to such taxpayers.
