PAN-Aadhaar linking: Deadline extended by 3 months to March 31

The last date to link PAN and Aadhaar cards has been extended yet again. The deadline has been extended by 3 months from December 31, 2019 to March 31, 2020. The last date to link both these documents has been extended for the second time. Earlier, this deadline was extended from September 30, 2019 to December 31, 2020.

Extension of the deadline is a relief for those who haven't linked their Aadhaar and PAN cards as of yet. Under the income tax laws, your PAN card will become inoperative if you fail to link your PAN and Aadhaar cards before the set deadline. This means that if both these cards are not linked then you won't be able to perform at least 18 financial transactions. These transactions include sale or purchase of a vehicle (excluding two wheelers), applying for debit/credit cards and opening a demat account among many others as per the Rule 114B of the Income Tax Rules.

There are two ways to link your PAN card to your Aadhaar card: through SMS and/or through the IT department website. In order to link your PAN and Aadhaar via SMS, you need to type a message in the format: UIDPAN . You can send this SMS either to 567678 or 56161.

In order to link your PAN and Aadhaar via the IT department website, you will have to visit the IT-department website homepage. You need to follow the steps specified on the IT-department website to link your PAN and Aadhaar online.

Also read: PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline tomorrow, here's why you need to link the cards

Also read: Pan-Aadhaar linking: What will happen if the two are not linked by December 31; Check here