The Income Tax department is simplifying the process of obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) by introducing a new plan that will allow for instant allotment of e-PAN cards. Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Singh Thakur, informed the Lok Sabha that the government is setting up a PAN/TAN processing centre capable of issuing e-PANs in real-time, or within a maximum of 10 minutes.
Here are 5 important things to know about the new e-PAN cards:
1) Thakur announced that a “Real Time PAN/TAN Processing Centre (RTPC)” is being developed to enable the issuance of e-PAN cards in less than 10 minutes via Aadhaar-based e-KYC.
2) According to a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notification from December 2018, e-PAN cards issued electronically in PDF format with a QR code are considered valid PAN cards.
3) The Income Tax department will issue e-PANs electronically, using e-KYC. These digitally signed e-PANs will be sent by email and can be used as identity proof in electronic form.
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4) The e-PAN facility will be available exclusively to Indian citizens who hold a valid Aadhaar card.
5) Efforts are also underway to reduce the processing time for physical PAN cards, with the Income Tax department upgrading its processes and infrastructure, particularly for applicants using Aadhaar-based e-KYC.