Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary has requested an extension to the deadline for linking PAN card with Aadhaar, stating that many people in India lack access to the internet and suffer due to a lack of facilities. Aadhaar is required for various activities in India, including banking, and the government has mandated PAN-Aadhaar linking. If the deadline of March 31 is missed, the PAN number becomes inactive, and individuals cannot file their income tax return. Previously, a penalty of Rs.500 was imposed, which has since increased to Rs.1000. Chaudhary has written to Prime Minister Modi, urging an extension of six months and free services from local and sub post offices to support those without access to the internet or who fall prey to fake websites.
Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary has said that the deadline for linking PAN card with Aadhaar should be extended.
Aadhaar card is essential for everything in India, starting with banking. The central government has insisted on linking PAN card with Aadhaar card. In particular, the Income Tax Department has warned that if the PAN card is not linked with Aadhaar by March 31, the PAN card will be cancelled.
Those who do not link it with Aadhaar will not be able to use their PAN card for any transaction from April 1, 2023. If this opportunity is missed, the 10-digit PAN number will become inactive. People who do not link PAN with Aadhaar number cannot file income tax return. Currently those who want to link PAN card with Aadhaar number have to pay a penalty of Rs.1000. Till June 30, 2022, this fee was Rs.500. It has since increased.
In this situation, Congress President Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, in a letter written to Prime Minister Modi, said, “The deadline for linking PAN card with Aadhaar should be extended.” In his letter, he said, “In India, many people live in areas where internet access is scarce. Their situation is a nightmare. Most of the people suffer due to lack of such facilities.
Also, there are many fake websites that only extort money from innocent people. Therefore, I request you to direct the revenue department and the finance ministry to extend the deadline by another 6 months to facilitate people to link PAN card with their Aadhaar card free of charge. I also request the local and sub post offices to make arrangements to provide this service free of cost,” he said.