You may be fined Rs 10,000 if you don't link PAN with Aadhaar, and here's why

If you fail to link your PAN card with Aadhaar card within the deadline of March 31, you may have to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 for using an inoperative Permanent Account Number.

The Income Tax Department had earlier noted that PAN card will become inoperative if it is not linked with Aadhaar by March 31, 2020. According to the income tax authority, a person could be fined up to Rs 10,000 for using a cancelled PAN card.

READ: Your PAN card may become inactive after March 31, 2020, if you don't link it to Aadhaar

A Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notification had said that persons whose PANs become inoperative shall be liable for all the consequences under the I-T Act for not furnishing, intimating or quoting the permanent account number.

Section 272B of the Income Tax Act states that when a PAN becomes inoperative, it will be assumed that PAN has not been furnished or quoted as required by the law and a penalty of Rs 10,000 may apply.

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For those linking PAN with Aadhaar after March 31, 2020, the I-T department said PAN shall "become operative from the date of intimation of Aadhaar number".

Till January 2020, over 30.75 crore PANs were linked to Aadhaar. However, 17.58 crore PANs were yet to be linked with the 12-digit biometric ID.