The Centre has disclosed that over Rs 600 crore has been amassed in penalties from individuals who failed to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar.
According to Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, a total of Rs 601.97 crore has been collected between July 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, from individuals who neglected to comply with the linkage requirement.
As of January 29, the number of individuals yet to link their PAN with Aadhaar stood at 11.48 crore. Notably, this figure excludes certain categories exempted from the mandatory linkage, such as residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, or Assam, non-resident taxpayers, individuals above 80 years of age, and non-Indian citizens.
The obligation to link PAN with Aadhaar was imposed on all PAN holders as of July 1, 2017, with a deadline set for June 30. Failure to adhere to this requirement renders the PAN inoperative, depriving individuals of income tax refunds and interest on refunds. However, individuals can reinstate the operability of their PAN by paying a late fee of Rs 1,000.
This disclosure comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling, which upheld the legality of linking PAN with Aadhaar while striking down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which permitted private entities to employ Aadhaar for verification purposes.