Partner Article

Who can apply for pan card

Permanent Account Number PAN is a tax number that has to be quoted at the time of undertaking any tax transaction and now it is increasingly finding use elsewhere. The government has made it mandatory for quoting of PAN while undertaking several purchases that are above a certain financial limit. This makes the importance of having a PAN far more than earlier and this also means that a larger number of people have to apply for PAN and know your PAN status to ensure that they have it for use. The use of the number is likely to increase in scope in the coming days and hence this is something that needs to be present for everyone.

Verification

One of the aspects of the entire application that required the physical presence was the sign of the applicant and this is a big part of the PAN process. The signature appears on the PAN card too and has to be used for signing the income tax return too. However the return filing process has been moving towards a digital era with first the use of digital signature and now with the authentication using Aadhar. The same process of using Aadhar has now been extended to the PAN application process. This makes the process easier to complete as there are some additional benefits to using Aadhar. Earlier the use of digital signature was enabled for the PAN application but the usage of Aadhar signature use has something that is additional. The proof of address and identity can also be completed using Aadhar and hence this aids in a multiple of areas.

Application The process of applying for PAN till now involved filling up a form and then pasting photographs plus submission of the documents in support of the application. This would then be checked by the tax authorities and the number would then be allotted. There was no process that was fully online in the sense that even if one went online and filled in the details they still had to send a physical copy to the tax office which in effect nullified the entire process of going online and completing the requirements.

As per the guidelines issued by the Government of India, any person, Resident, Non-Resident or Foreign Citizen, should have a PAN for carrying out financial transactions like :

Investment in Mutual Fund

Opening of a bank a/c in India

Purchase or sale of Property etc.

Following entities can apply for a PAN card

Individual

Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)

Private Limited Company & Public Limited Company

Partnership Firm

Trusts

Artificial Juridical Person

Foreign Company

Local Authority

Association of Person

Liaisoning office etc.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by reenawani .