What is PAN Card and Why Should you Get it ?
PAN,formally known as Permanent Account Number is a Ten digit Alphanumeric number which is issued by the Income Tax department. The PAN is delivered to the applicant in the Form of laminated Card. Every PAN card holder has a unique PAN which can never match any other. An example of Permanent Account number(PAN) is “ABRPP467oD”. As you can see PAN is a combination of numbers and letters(alphanumeric).
The PAN is not a Random one, it is created by following a pattern :
- First three characters in the PAN(“ABR” in this case) are always alphabetical numbers
- Fourth Character of the PAN, represents the Type of PAN
P – Individual,
F- Firm,
C – Company
H- HUF (Hindu Undivided Family)
A – AOP (Association of Persons)
T – Trust
- Fifth Character in the PAN represents the First letter of PAN holder’s Surname.
- Next Four Characters are the sequential numbers(from 0001 to 9999)
- Last Character is an alphabetic Check Digit
How PAN Card is Beneficial for Income Tax Department :
According to Income Tax department – “It is mandatory to quote PAN on return of income, all correspondence with any income tax authority. From 1 January 2005 it will be mandatory to quote PAN on challans for any payments due to Income Tax Department.”
All transactions of person are linked with the department via PAN. The transactions are generally Tax payments, TDS/TCS Credits, returns of income, correspondence and so on. PAN is an identifier of any individual with the Income Tax department.
Who Should Have PAN ? :
- All existing taxpayers(or individuals) who are required to Furnish return of income(even on behalf of others)
- Any BusinessMan or Individual whose turnover is likely to exceed Five Lakh Rupees
- Any Person who has the intention of enter into financial transaction where quoting PAN is mandatory
- Any employee or personnel(with early turn over Rs. 5 lakh) must have the PAN card. Those who are expecting their yearly income to be more than this amount must get their PAN as soon as possible.
Note : It must be noted that a person can have one and only one PAN. Usage of two PAN(of same category) by any individual is against the laws.
Why should you Get PAN Card :
As mentioned above, PAN card is helpful for the income tax department. Being a responsible and honest citizens of our country it is mandatory for all people to get their PAN. If you have the PAN , you will never face any issue in the Tax payment. PAN card also serve as important ID proof while applying for services like, New Telephone connection, Credit Card etc. We have covered a separate Post regarding the Benefits of PAN Card.
Price of PAN Card :
- If the communication address is in India only, the PAN card will Cost you Rs. 105
- If the communication address is outside India, the Price of PAN card is Rs 971 in this case
Note : This is the actual amount you have to pay for New PAN card, while applying through online. If you have applied for New PAN through any agent or Third party, the price may vary.
You are also advised to Read the post on Cost of PAN
Applying For New PAN Card :
To apply for New PAN, you can apply through PAN application centres.The documents in favor of the proof of identity(POI), proof of address(POA) and proof of Date of Birth(POD). For complete details like Details of Documents required to Apply for PAN, Filling the Form number 49a and Paying the PAN card Fee, read this Post – Apply Online for New PAN.
Check PAN Card Status :
You can track the Status of PAN Card, that you applied for. Though, it should be noted that to track the PAN Card Status, you should enter the acknowledgment number or Coupon number(provided during the registration). For complete details, read our post on checking PAN Card Status.
Lost/Damaged PAN Card :
In case you have lost your PAN Card(or it is damaged), you can apply for Duplicate PAN card. It must be noted that the Duplicate PAN card will not change your PAN. The PAN allotted to any individual remains same throughout the lifetime. Other thing worth mentioning is that, if you have the photocopy or image of your Lost or damaged PAN card, it should be attached with the application.
Making Changes in Your Existing PAN Card :
While applying for New PAN, if you have mistakenly entered any value correctly, you will get the PAN with those details only. To make corrections, you have to make Changes in the PAN Online.
What are NSDL and UTIITSL :
NSDL and UTIITSL are the official partners of Income Tax departments for accepting PAN card applications Online. Applicants can apply online for the PAN car through the NSDL and UTIITSL portals. Online filling of PAN also consists of Form number 49a. Before applying applicants must read the instructions.
Contacting the PAN Card Customer Care :
There are times when you have certain questions related to your PAN card, but you don’t know whom should you contact. If you applied through the UTIITSL or NDSL website, you can contact the customer support. They can be contacted via email or through the helpline numbers too. You can even fill the online form, specifying your query. The executives will provide resolution to your queries. Not sure about what is the email id or number, where you should contact? Read the details of PAN Customer Care.
Conclusion:
Permanent Account number(PAN) is a must have asset for the Indian Citizens. In fact, The foreigner Citizen can also get a PAN card in India. Due to increasing number of Frauds in Tax, the PAN was introduced. Being a loyal and good citizen, You must get your PAN card. Having a PAN card helps you to be tension free from all tax related issues. It also serves as a Identity proof and in some cases, the existence of PAN becomes mandatory. We at epancard.info are dedicated to help people in applying for New PAN cards, Applying for Duplicate PAN, Making corrections in PAN information and so on.