Father's name not mandatory for PAN

As part of its commitment to improve ease of living for commoners, the government on Tuesday shed one more rule that required mandatory quoting of father's name on PAN applications for applicants whose mother is a single parent.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) through a notification amended the income tax laws.

The new rules would come into force from December 5.

The new application forms would give an option to the applicant to quote name of the parent. Until now, quoting fathers name was mandatory on PAN applications even if the mother was estranged or the father had died.

In order to help the tax department track financial transactions by entities in a better way, the Income Tax department also made it mandatory for entities that have made financial transactions worth Rs 2.5 lakh or more in a financial year to apply for a PAN card.

The application has to be filed on or before May 31 of the assessment year for which such income is assessable.

Experts said the move would also help the government prevent tax evasion and broaden its tax base.