PAN ownership gap shrinks, with 42.10 crore males and 31.05 crore females holding cards

PAN ownership soars: As much as half of India's population now possesses a Permanent Account Number (PAN), marking a milestone in tax identification. gender gap in PAN ownership is grually narrowing, with 42.10 crore males and 31.05 crore females holding PAN cards as of March 31, 2024.

As of same date, a total of 74.67 crore PANs have been issued, reflecting a 10 per cent increase from previous year and an astonishing 2,500 per cent surge since 2014. surge in PAN issuance can be attributed to various factors, including mandatory requirement of PAN in financial transactions, need for analysing tax deductions, and enforcement of Rule 114(B) mandating PAN in 18 s of financial transactions.

Ahaar linking reduces duplicates

ditionally, rise in female investors has contributed to closing gender gap in PAN ownership. Over 60.5 crore PANs have been linked with Ahaar by March 31, 2024, aiding in eliminating duplicate PANs. government's initiative to deactivate unlinked PANs has resulted in penalties being collected amounting to Rs 601.97 crore from July 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.

Section 139AA of Income Tax Act mandates that individuals who were allotted a PAN by July 1, 2017, and are eligible for an Ahaar number, must link ir Ahaar with PAN before prescribed deline. This requirement ensures compliance with tax regulations and facilitates seamless identification of taxpayers.

PAN-Ahaar deline relief

In a recent development, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) provided relief to taxpayers facing challenges in linking ir PAN with Ahaar. y announced that transactions up to March 31, 2024, will not incur higher rates of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) or Tax Collected at Source (TCS) if PAN becomes operative by May 31 of same year.

This decision alleviates concerns for taxpayers and those handling ir transactions, especially regarding TDS deductions. CBDT has clarified that individuals who link ir PAN with Ahaar by May 31 will not face any repercussions for short deduction of TDS.